Fire and Ice
by CommanderEivlys
Summary: Samus managed to save Rundas from Dark Samus. After healing him, they now have to complete the mission together. But as Corruption continues spreading through Samus, their new feelings for each other start to get in the way... SamusXRundas
1. Chapter 1: A different path

**AN :**** Hi there ! I know I should spend more time on **_**Black Chrysanthemum**_**, but I couldn't help it. I had this idea in my head for weeks and couldn't get rid of it.**

**So, I've been playing **_**Metroid Prime 3**_** for a while (and still didn't finish it xD), but I really fell in love with the world of **_**Metroid.**_** Especially Rundas xD I love that guy, and I really regretted it when I had to kill him, and I'm sure Samus too. That, and I read one or two SamusXRundas fanfics that really swept me away, so I had that crazy idea of "What would've happened if Rundas had survived?". **

**Within a few days, the idea grew on me, until it became a near obsession. So I decided I had to write this fic, even though I'm a very slow updater. I hope you'll bear with me on that one. Yes, it's a SamusXRundas, so people who hate this couple or who want her with Ridley instead, read if you want, but don't flame. Reviews are also much appreciated!**

**The song for this chapter is "Take it all away" by **_**Red**_

Chapter 1: The other path

Samus Aran had fought a lot in her life. Of course she had, she was a Bounty Hunter. Fighting was her job. Whether it was against Space Pirates, organic computers, Parasites, or even Dark Samus, she fought and often won. She was a warrior, the heir to the Chozo, the "Hunter" as the pirates called her. She had worked into the Federation's police, had been trained by her adoptive family, and her genes had been mixed with theirs. Fighting was what she was trained for, what she was born for, what she was created for. And no matter how difficult the battle, that training always made her win.

However, today, Samus Aran was fighting one of the hardest battles she had ever because her ennemy had some big weapon, oh no. Not because he had a shield. Not because he was incredibly strong. None of these really imported in her mind.

No, the reason why fighting this ennemy was so difficult was because he was one of the few people she counted as a friend.

"Rundas!" Samus yelled at him for what felt like the thousandth time. "Rundas, it's me! Don't let that thing control you, Rundas!"

She narrowly escaped the bloc of ice he had thrown at her, and fired at his PED's center, right in the middle of his chest. She knew it wouldn't kill him, just stun him a bit. But it would only last a few seconds, after that he'd come at her again. And this time, she'd probably be too exhausted to avoid his blows.

Rundas groaned as her blast hit right where she had planned for it to hit. He fell backwards, his head hitting one of the ice pillars. It exploded into a thousand little pieces. He shuddered, then went still.

Samus panted heavily, her gun still pointed at where he was. Who knew, it could be a trick. He could be pretending to be unconscious, then freeze her when she'd drop her guard. But as a few minutes passed, and he still didn't stir, she took a hesitant step towards him, then another.

"Rundas?" she whispered. He didn't move a limb. She ran to his side, still holding him in check. The PED device was still deeply fixed in his armor. She raised a shaking hand and put it on his chest. She ran a quick scan of the device, and exhaled deeply when the words _broken beyond repair_ appeared in her visor. _But that doesn't mean he's not Corrupted anymore,_ she reminded herself. _I have to be careful._

"Rundas?" she said, a little more louder this time.

He groaned.

Her heart racing, Samus still held her beam to his face. Just in case. He groaned again, louder. Then she heard him say in a hoarse voice:

"Samus?"

Her heart skipped, as she leaned closer to him. _He's still dangerous, just because he said my name doesn't mean..._

"Rundas, are you okay?"

He moaned again as her armoured hand touched the back of his head.

"I've been better," he said, the usual sarcasm back in his voice. "Next time I get Corrupted, try to be a bit more gentle, alright?"

"Well," she replied, trying to maintain her voice emotionless. "Next time, just don't get Corrupted at all. That will save me all the trouble. And you were trying to kill me, you know? It's normal that I tried to defend myself."

He chuckled in his deep and almost metallic voice. "Yeah, I guess it is. Ow!" he yelled when her fingers found the wound on his head. She shook her head:

"You've got a lot of wounds, some of them serious. Most of them I can't treat here, not without dragging you across the base to my ship and fighting our way through all the other Pirates. That, and I need to finish the mission," she looked up at the Levianthan Seed, still covered with the shield.

She was right, and he knew it. The first rule for Bounty Hunters was to get the mission done first, no matter what the cost was. Even if your companions were bleeding to death next to you, or if there was a bomb about to explode. _Complete the mission first._ That was the first thing she had ever been taught when she became a Hunter. And Rundas too had been taught that.

There was a long silence between them, broken by Rundas's hoarse voice:

"So you have to leave me there, huh?"

She didn't reply immediately, then slowly nodded.

"Dammit," that was all he said. He seemed to gaze at Bryyo's red sky for a while. After a minute, he said: "You know, that sucks. I really wished that if I died, I'd die in a cold, icy place. Instead, I'm stuck on Bryyo Fire." He chuckled, his voice still hoarse. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"You're not gonna die," she said in a firm, resolute voice, her hands still travelling around his body to find where he wounded most seriously. If he would have had a human face, he would have raised his eyebrows. But he was not human, he was Phrygisian, so he simply laughed in a cold, humourless way.

"How can I survive then?" he said, still laughing. "I can't come with you to finish the mission since I can't even feel my legs, I can't fight the Pirates who will be here when you're gone, and I can't even reach my ship! Samus, I thought you knew better."

"They won't find you," she replied coldly. Before he could ask what she was talking about, she stood up and reached the Ice Missiles he had left when he fell. He watched her as her armour easily absorbed them, and then as she blasted a large hole in the wall, almost like a cavern. She ran back to him, then helped him to his feet.

"What's the plan?" he asked and groaned as blue blood trickled down his many wounds.

"You're going to hide into that cavern until I come back to fetch you," she replied. "I'm going to freeze the entrance so that it keeps you nice and cold and stops any Pirate to go and get you. In fifteen minutes, maybe less, I'll be back and I'll call the ship to land here and break the ice. After that, we'll head back to Norion. Maybe they can help you there."

Despite the fact that she was maybe twice as smaller than he was, she had no problem dragging him into the little cave she had created. She helped him to set down, then went back to the entrance.

"You sure it's gonna be alright?" he asked. She didn't reply, but suddenly passed a hand over her visor. The helmet disappeared, and for the first time Rundas saw Samus's real face. He had never expected her to look so pretty, even for Phrygisian standarts... She was young, maybe twenty, but her large blue eyes were youthless and looked much older than her real age. Her light blond hair was combed back into a ponytail, so that her hair wouldn't get in the way. Her features were probably very attractive for human men, but they were set in such a hard, cold way that any normal person would be driven away.

Rundas wasn't any normal person.

She looked at him sternly, then her mouth curled into a half-smile.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll get you out of here. Besides," she added, and the helmet reappeared, hiding her face from his view. "Like you said a month ago, I owe you one. I'm gonna settle that debt."

And before he could reply, she sent an ice missile which sealed the entrance to the cavern.

_Humans,_ Rundas thought as he leaned back against the wall of the cave. _Are definitely strange beings._

_No._

_Not humans._

She _is the weird one_.

He smirked.

_Samus Aran..._

**AN:**** How was it? I hope you like it! =D This chapter was kinda short, but the next one wil be longer, I promise!**


	2. Chapter 2: Compromise

**AN :**** Hey again =D Hope you liked the last chapter, this one is longer. Please Rate and Review !**

**I don't own anything, except the plot.**

**The song for this chapter is "Savin' me" by Nickelback.**

Chapter 2 : A compromise

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Samus was back. Rundas may not have seen the generator explode, but he had heard it. And he was sure the pirates lurking outside had heard it too. A few seconds after the big _boom_ had retented, he heard screeches and hurried steps behind the ice at the entrance. After they were gone, she came back without any comments and dragged him out of the cavern. By this time, Rundas was half-unconscious and muttering like a madman.

"Fire," he kept whispering. "There's fire everywhere... I gotta go back to the cold..."

Though Samus didn't reply, she really hoped he wasn't going to give in to the Corruption again. She didn't have much energy left, and her wounds were hurting like hell. She barely had enough energy to drag them both back to the ship, do when it came to fighting him... Fortunately, he did nothing of the sort and only continued in his delirium. _The temperature here would affect any Phrygisian, _she thought. _But since he's seriously wounded, it's even worse for him. I have to get him in the ship straightaway, before the damage in his body gets irreversable._

Luckily for both of them, Samus had found a shortcut which leaded almost directly to the landing station and avoided any other confrontations with Space Pirates. It still took Samus a while to get Rundas inside, since the whole place was just _crammed_ with fuel gel. _Why did Dane send him here? _She wondered as she pulled him into the ship and lifted him on her small bed. _This place is death to Phrygisians. Then again, this was the only place left. Ghor went to Elysia because of all the machines there, and Gandrayda is perfect for an infiltration mission on the Homeworld. The only planet left was Bryyo. Besides, his powers are good to stop Reptilicus, hoppers, and all the other blood-thirsty beasts who live here._

Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of anger at this. Rundas may have been a one of the best Hunters in the galaxy, he still had a fatal weakness: his low resistance to high temperature. Dane knew it, and yet, he had sent him here, in one of the hottest places in the Federation, to his almost-certain death... Even if Samus hadn't come here, it would have been a matter of days before he would have died, burning under the rays of Bryyo's powerful two suns. She knew the General had his reasons, but still...

She touched his forehead. It was lukewarm. Nothing for a human, but burning for one like him. Samus bit her lip. She didn't know how to heal him. She barely knew how to heal herself, a half-human, so an alien... She knew he had some sort of blue blood, which looked a bit like Phazon, but she didn't know how to stop the bleeding, or if any vital organs were touched...

"Don't die on me, Rundas," she whispered, pressing a wet cloth to the wound on the back of his head. Then she thought: _I can't continue this for long. He needs a real medic. Someone who knows enough to help him, someone with enough knowledge of Phrigisians' bodies..._

She froze.

_He needs the AU!_

Samus ran to her control station and quickly transmitted a short radio call. For a few minutes, there was no answer, and then the Aurora Unit's hologram appeared in front of her.

"Samus," it said in its robotic, emotionless voice. "Our scans indicate that you still are in your ship. Why are you not on your way to destroy the other generator?"

Samus took a deep breath: "I found Rundas."

There was a short silence, then the AU spoke again, its voice a bit less indifferent: "How did you find him? And in what condition is he?"

"I was heading towards the generator, when Rundas arrived and... attacked me," she winced. That wasn't a very pleasant memory. "He had been corrupted by Dark Samus, so I had no choice but to defend myself."

"Is he dead?" it asked.

"No," Samus answered. "But near it. He regained his senses, but bears many wounds, some of them serious. That, and he's litteraly cooked by the temperature on Bryyo."

There was a long silence, then the AU spoke again: "Very well. Is he in much pain?"

"I think so. He's delirious..."

"We cannot wait for him to recover, Samus. If he's really in such a bad shape, then we have two choices."

Samus's pulse quickened. "What are those... choices?"

"Either you leave him here, either you dispose of him yourself."

Samus's blood suddenly turned cold. For a second, the only thing she felt was shock and disbelief. The AU was actually asking her either to abandon a dying Rundas between the hands of Reptilicus and Pirates, or to kill him herself.

They wanted her to _murder_ him.

Suddenly her shock was replaced by cold fury. How _dared_ they? How could they ask her to murder one of her few friends after what they had done with Adam and the Chozos? She clenched her fists. Rundas had saved her life twice. Even though they didn't know each other much, he had risked his life saving her. They had fought side by side on the battlefield and trusted each other with their lives. She had promised him she'd get him out of there.

Now these bastards, the same people who had sent him here on a suicide mission, were asking, no, _ordering_ her to end her friend's life.

"Samus?" the AU asked. "Are you all right?"

Of course she wasn't bloody alright. "You want me to kill him," she said in a accusing tone. "First Adam, then Rundas. Why the hell are you always ordering me to kill my friends ???" she yelled.

The echo of her shout rebounded a long time in the ship. Samus leaned forwards, her cold blue eyes meeting the AU's. "Get me Admiral Dane."

"Samus, you are reacting in a selfish and irrespon—"

"GET ME DANE, YOU DAMN PIECE OF CRAP!!!"

There was long silence, and then Dane's tired voice broke it: "Samus?"

"Dane," she replied through gritted teeth. "Explain to me why that damn computer just told me I must kill Rundas."

"Samus, be reasonable. You have to finish—"

"Finish the mission, I got it," she interrupted. "But as long as Rundas is wounded, I won't do a thing. You want me to kill him, you fucking bastard!"

"Samus, listen to me. I understand that it's hard for you, and that you considered him as your ally, but you can't afford anyone to slow you down. The Leviathan is embedding itself deeper into Bryyo as we speak. Isn't better to end Rundas's suffering rather than make him go through all this?"

Samus bit her lip. He was right, of course, but she could never bring herself to kill Rundas. They had been through so much together! And then she realized: _why _should _she_ obey him?

"Admiral Dane," Samus said slowly and leaning towards the hologram. "Give me one reason to obey you. I don't know if you remember, but I'm not one of your soldiers who obeys blindly whatever is told to them; I am a bounty hunter. My loyalties lie with no-one."

"What are you telling me, Samus?" Dane replied in an icy voice.

"I am telling you that I do things my own way: either you accept it, either you find another bounty to do the job. And believe me, it doesn't affect me one bit to work with someone else. There are thousands of people out there who are _dying_ to employ me. I'm the best Hunter around. Now, I need you to help me heal Rundas now, or I swear I won't hesitate to tear my contract down."

"There are other hunters out there," Dane growled.

Samus laughed humourlessly. "I don't think a lot of hunters will want to work with the Federation if it means they can be abandonned like an old sock during the mission. Your choice, Dane. I could go public with everything happening right now too. And I can guarantee you that I won't be the one answering the questions."

Dane seemed to fume silently. Finally, he said angrily: "Since when are you this obstinate?"

"Since I saw my closest friend and mentor died because the Federation considered it more important to finish a mission than to save his life."

They glared at each other in silence, then Dane sighed massaged his temples: "Very well. I will order the AU to help you heal Rundas. But there is one condition."

"What condition?" she asked.

"If ever one of you is hurt again –and I don't give a damn about how terrible the wounds are-, you leave him behind. Without any hesitation. We can't afford to be late anymore."

Samus's heart sank with gratitude. "You have my word, Admiral Dane." She turned around, but Dane called her back:

"Samus!"

"Yes, Admiral?"

"Be very careful," he said, his blue eyes percing her. "Bounty Hunters work alone for a reason. You can't allow yourself to get close to anyone. You should know better, after Adam's death."

Samus slowly nodded, then ran back into her room. She had lowered the temperature in it, so it wouldn't affect Rundas anymore. She seized a small earphone and twisted it in.

"This is a mistake, Samus," the Aurora Unit said.

"Maybe," she replied. "But I'm not going to stand here and watch Rundas die when I can prevent it. Now tell me what to do."

The AU stayed silent, then its robotic voice cracked in the earphone.

"Describe the wounds."

**AN: **** I loved writing this xD I like making Samus a bit rebellious, I think it suits her.**

**Next chapter: Rundas awakes in an awkward position... And so does Samus. They now have to fight their way through the Thorn Jungle and get to know each other a bit better. But something is not right... Is it their imagination, or is someone stalking them?**

**Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: Awakening

**AN :**** Here I am again ! =D Chapter 3 is up, hope you like it! Thank you to my fantastic reviewers, especially RigelGlyth, for inspiring me with his fantastic Rundas stories. Thanks, Jex! =)**

**Song for this chapter is "Time of dying" by Three Days!**

Chapter 3: Awakening

Samus collapsed on the side of the bed, exhausted. For two hours she had worked on Rundas's body, stopping the bleedings, cleaning the wounds and healing the broken bones and torn organs. It had taken a lot of time and energy, but Rundas would live. And he would be able to use all of his abilities normally again. She sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off her brow. She had already lost a lot of energy in Bryyo Fire. Now she was truly spent. She had never felt this tired in her life. All she wanted to do for now was to curl up into a ball and sleep for a few hours.

"Samus," the AU's voice said in her earphone. "Rundas will survive. His vital signs are perfectly stable. He should wake up within two hours, and will have regained the use of all his abilities in four."

Samus nodded, suddenly too overwhelmed by gratitude to speak. If it weren't for the Aurora, she would be burying Rundas right now. She didn't want to know what would've happen if she would have killed him. But he was alive and would be well soon enough.

"You should sleep, Samus," the AU told her. "You haven't slept for days, not to mention all the energy you spent fighting Pirates and healing Rundas. You will arrive on the other side of Bryyo in eight hours, try to sleep until then. I will put the ship in auto-pilot during that time."

"Thanks," Samus said, desperately trying not to yawn.

"Be careful, Samus," it said, her tone of voice disapproving. "If ever Rundas gets corrupted again, you _will_ have to kill him. There's no turning back now"

"I know." She grabbed the earphone and put it on the table next to her. _I should sleep, _she thought, but then realized that Rundas was lying on her bed. His breathing was slow, but steady, and he seemed to sleep well. She couldn't just take him out.

"Screw it," she muttered as she climbed on the side of the bed, resting her head on Rundas's shoulder. His body was cold, but his armoured scales were supprisingly comfortable. She buried her face in his neck. A small part of her was protesting, saying she'd only make him angry by doing this. "Well, then so be it. I'm exhausted. After all, I did save the bastard's life. He'll get over it."

She curled close to him and close her eyes, instantly falling asleep.

The ceremony reminded him of a human burial, he mused. There was grief, sadness for some and anger for others. Maybe it was because after it, he'd be considered dead for the clan. Dead in his parents' eyes, dead in his siblings and friends'eyes, dead for every Phrigisian. He was the one they were mourning right now. In a few minutes, no one would ever mention him again, his name would be erased forever. He'd no longer be Tar'umi, the respected and admired heir to the Pherrayi Clan. He'd be an outcast, exiled from his home forever. Despite everything, he felt a pang of regret when Rymmoa, his father, shouted to the crowd how Tar'umi had humiliated the Clan by his arrogance and recklessness, how his mistakes had cost the lives of five members of the Clan. The two guards beside him hold him firmly, presenting him to the angry mob. It took all his will to meet the eyes of every person in the crowd, whether they were full of hatred, of sadness, or of confusion. He knew every Phrygisian in there, knew that they had loved and admired them, and that he had deceived them all because of his dream, his obsession: to become a Bounty Hunter. But he didn't regret it, no, he didn't. At least, now, he would be able to acomplish that dream. He may be cast out, he knew he would be welcomed by the Federation with open arms.

At last his father finished his speech. No, he wasn't his father anymore, was he? Now, Tar'umi was about to "die". He'd no longer have any family. From now on, he would be killed on sight, like a Tarruk. He would be a lone beast, no longer attached to a herd. The guards restrained him even more. Now was the moment. The moment of the Marking.

Rymmoa gazed at him angrily. Tar'umi held his gaze steadily, trying to maintain the little honor he had left. There was no anger or hatred in this stare, only acceptance and contempt for the man. Rymmoa half-jumped when he saw this, and his gaze hardened.

"Let it be known throughout Phrygisia," Rymmoa said, trying to supress the fury in his voice, "that Tar'umi, former heir to the Pherrayi clan and son of Rymmoa and Derhiia, is stripped from all his positions and exiled from the Clan and this planet."

"Let it be known," the crowd whispered as one.

"Let it be known that the name 'Tar'umi' is to disappear forever from the Clan's legacy, that his name shall never be mentioned again."

"Let it be known."

Tar'umi looked down at the crowd. He could see Ligerya down there, her eyes cast down. Her fists tightened when his judgement was called out. He felt a pang of regret. Now that he was sent away, who would take care of her? Would she find another mate? Then he saw his brother, Gyrrio, elbowing his way through the others to her. When he got there, he passed an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Ligerya leaned into the embrace. Tar'umi felt hurt by the way she had forgotten him so easily, and at the same timehe was happy for her and his brother. At least now, he didn't have to worry about his former mate. Gyrrio looked up and their eyes met. Unlike his father's, his eyes were sad and questioning. "Take care of her, Brother." Tar'umi mouthed. Gyrrio hesitated, then nodded once. Relief spread through his body. Now he could leave without any regrets.

The guards forced Tar'umi in a kneeling position. The silence was deafening as Derhiia, Tar'umi's mother, walked onto the stage, carrying the instruments for the Marking. There was a small pot, which was said to contain lava from the inside of the planet. Its burns couldn't be healed, except if the Clan's leader wished it from the inside of his heart. Tar'umi knew that the burns were usually so deep and terrible that most died after being marked with it. But he wouldn't. He would survive. He had to.

He had already seen the ceremony performed twice in his life. In it, his father took a strange three-bladed instrument and plunged it into the lava, before stabbing the criminal in the chest with it. Even if he would survive, the instrument left three terrible scars on the chest, marking him as an oucast. After that, the guards threw him at the entrance of the city, with every person following. They'd usually yell insults and curses, and Rymmoa would finally complete the ritual by invoking the Phrigisians Gods and asking them to forgive the Clan for the crimes the criminal had commited, and to curse the criminal forever. After that, never would he be mentioned again, even by his family, as though he had never existed.

Tar'umi gulped, knowing that this would be painful and humiliating. Fear gripped his stomach as Rymmoa took the instrument from Derhiia's hands. Her face contorted into a mixture of grief and terror when her mate plunged the blades into the pot. She seemed to want to stop all this, but didn't. Tar'umi was grateful for that. He couldn't bear to see his mother exiled, too.

Finally, Rymmoa took the trident out. The blades were red and fuming. He advanced and stopped in front of Tar'umi, his eyes still hard. But instead of plunging the blades in his son's chest, he said under his breath:

"Happy now? You just tore the Clan appart because of your blasphemy," he paused as Tar'umi didn't reply. "I asked you a question, you little braika!"

'Braika' was a terrible insult, but Tar'umi didn't anwer. "Tar'umi!" Rymmoa hissed.

"I'm not Tar'umi anymore," he finally said. "That name dies with my past in the Clan."

"So what is your name, then?" Rymmoa asked after a long pause.

Tar'umi smirked. "Since I am now an outcast..." he then said louder, for all to hear. "Hear my new name! I am different from all of you! I am unique! Therefore, my name is Rundas! 'Unique'!"

Shouts and cries of anger echoed in the crowd. Rymmoa glared and said: "As arrogant as ever. Alright, then, 'Rundas'. I cast you out from this place. Do not enter my home again!"

And he thrust the spear in Tar'umi, or rather Rundas's chest.

Even with all his will, he couldn't stiffle a cry of pain. The blades burned in his chest, marking it like acid. The guards let him collapse on the ground as he desperately tried to stop the terrible pain, like fire. Fire. Fire! He was burning! He heard Ligerya and his mother's muffled screams of grief. His scream of pain joined theirs. He just wanted to die. Make the pain go away. Make it go. Make it—

Rundas shot up with a loud gasp, his hand instantly flying to the three parallel scars on is chest. He tried to calm his erratic breath, but it still took him five good minutes. When he was finally over, he looked around the small, bare room. It took him a moment to realize that he was in Samus's ship. His many wounds had been covered in frozen bandages. I guess I have Samus to thank for that, he thought, then glanced aound. Where is she, by the way?

It was then he realized he had a weight on his shoulder. He looked down. For a few seconds, Rundas didn't recognize the human curled beside him. Then he realised that Samus had taken her suit off, that was why he hadn't recognized her. She was wearing a light blue bodysuit, covered with his dried blood. She looked strangely relaxed, almost peaceful. He felt a sudden and strange desire to protect her, to prevent her from ever being hurt again. It grew and became stronger by the second. He felt strange, almost elated, as he gazed at her peaceful face. He realized all the times they had been together, there always was a threat, an imminent danger that prevented them to speak to each other too long. Now there was no threat, and they were alone.

Alone.

Just the two of them.

No one else.

Then an alarm sound shattered the delicate moment like a rock through a spider's web. Samus stirred, and frowned in her sleep. Rundas sighed. What was I thinking? As he moved to get up, he felt her grip on his arm loosening. He was surprised by the regret he felt when her arm dropped to the side.

Tearing the bandage apart, he saw that he was now fully healed, thanks to the ice on the bandages. He went to the control room and placed himself in the small command seat. A radio call from the Federation soon arrived, which Rundas answered. Dane's face appeared on the screen:

"Rundas?" he asked. "How are you, son?"

"Apart from having been possessed an entire week by a freaky Samus clone, and then having the real Samus come and kick some sense back into me, I'm fine," Rundas answered dryly. "What's the status?"

"Oh, fine. We still haven't received word from the other Hunters, though. I can only guess, but I think we can now assume that what happened to you, that... Corruption, as we now call it, has happened to the others as well." Dane's eyes narrowed: "Where is Samus?"

"Sleeping. I guess she really is exhausted."

"I see," he said, but a frown appeared on his forehead. "Other than that, can you remember what happened to you before being Corrupted?"

"Oh, yeah..." Rundas answered, wondering what was wrong with the Admiral. "I was searching for the Leviathan Seed, when Pirates attacked me. I tried to dispatch them in Hypermode, but then, it... I don't know how to explain... The Phazon level started to rise to a critical level. By the time I realized that, it was too late. I couldn't switch the PED device off. I only remember Dark Samus's shadow towering over me... And the next second I was fighting Samus on Bryyo Fire. That's all," he finished, glancing at Dane.

"So you don't remember what happened during the time that you were Corrupted?" Dane asked.

"Only the last part," he replied. "When I was fighting Samus. But I... I didn't feel Corrupted. It was as though I was trying to kill her by my own free will! I felt angry with her, I wanted to hurt her, to kill her, and to drag her corpse back to Dark Samus." He shook his head. "I don't know how I snapped out of it, too. Maybe it was the shock..."

"Interesting," Dane mused, holding two fingers to his chin. A thoughtful stance, for humans, Rundas knew. "Well, it's a guess really, but I think that maybe it was the pain that broke you out of it. Still, try not to use Hypermode, or go anywhere near Phazon. I don't want you Corrupted again, understood?"

"Yes," Rundas answered, forgetting the sir on purpose. He didn't like the man ordering him around. He was a Bounty Hunter. That, and Phrygisians were very proud beings.

But can I still count myself as Phrygisian? He thought, glancing at the scars on his chest. After all, I've been cast out eight years ago. I should be used to that by now.

"You should arrive in Thorn Jungle in less than an hour," Dane said, his eyes still narrowed. "Good luck Rundas. My best wishes to Samus too."

And before Rundas could reply, his image disappeared. He leaned back in the chair and sighed. Great. Now what?

"Rundas?"

Rundas turned around to see Samus, a scowl on her face. She had showered, and her face and bodysuit were now clean. Her blond hair had been tied back into a ponytail. Rundas didn't know why, but he felt his heart skip as he looked at her. Though she didn't look as vulnerable as when she was asleep, she still looked quite fragile without the impressive armor. Though she can still probbly kick my ass, he thought.

"Samus," he greeted. "Thanks for healing me."

"Oh," she said, looking surprised for a second. "It was nothing really."

"You look tired," he commented, noting the dark circles under her eyes.

She shrugged: "I didn't sleep enough, that's all. How are you feeling? I know that Phrygisians heal very fast, but..."

"I'm okay," he replied. "No more wounds."

"You still have a scar on your chest though," she frowned. "I don't remember that wound. Where did you get that?"

"Wha'? Ah, uh, no! That's—" he shook his head. "I had this one for a while. It was done with fire, so it will never disappear completely."

"Who the hell did that to you?"

Rundas hesitated, but he knew she wouldn't stop asking until she got an answer. So he ran a claw across the scar and said quietly: "My father. It's the mark for those who are cast out of Phrygisia."

Her eyes widened as she looked at the scar, than at his face: "You mean you're... I... Oh God! I'm sorry! I—"

"It's okay," he replied. "You didn't know." Then he looked around. "My ship?"

"I couldn't move it, so I left it on Bryyo fire. I guess you're stuck with me for the while," she shrugged. "The first generator is down. We have to destroy the other before they replace it. Only then can we enter the Leviathan."

"I know."

They stared at each other in an awkward silence. Rundas didn't know what Samus was thinking, though human emotions were much easier to read than his. He briefly wondered what were the emotions that had crossed her face when she had seen his scar. Anger? Possibly... He thought he had recognized confusion too, though it was a strange emotion on her face. But there had been another, a stranger one, one he had seen only once or twice in his life before...

Concern?

He felt like snorting with amusement. As though Samus Aran, the Hunter, was concerned about him. She had better things to do than to worry about than a exiled Phrygisian who had almost killed her.

...Right ?

Her face became emotionless again. "You should eat something before we land. We're gonna stay in the wild for a while, and you haven't eaten anything since you arrived here."

"Phrygisians can survive for months without eating anything," he said, his voice as proud and arrogant as ever. Then his stomach growled loudly. If Phrigisians could blush, Rundas would be as red as a tomato. Samus rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right. Stop being a cocky idiot and come and get something now. I don't want you dying from hunger on the way."

Rundas felt mild annoyance at the patronizing way she spoke to him. After all, he was amongst the greatest Hunters in the galaxy.

But she is THE greatest Hunter out there, a voice whispered in his head.

Oh, just shut up. Why am I even talking to myself? Maybe the Corruption drived me insane after all.

"We're landing in less than an hour," Samus said. "Make sure you've eaten before then."

She turned around to exit the room, but then Rundas called her back.

"Samus."

She stared at him. He took a deep breath and locked his eyes with hers.

"Why did you save me, Samus?"

She rose her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't expected that kind of question from him.

"You could have left me behind, instead of going through all the trouble of healing me. No one would have questioned you. There isn't anyone left to blame you for my death anyway."

She looked at him in silence, then replied slowly:

"I don't leave anyone behind."

She turned around again, and added:

"You saved my life, Rundas. You barely knew me, but you did. And I owe you one. I always will, no matter how many times I save you in return."

As he didn't reply anything, she paced out the doors. They closed with a swift hiss.

Rundas couldn't help but feel that he had forgotten to tell her something.

**AN:**** Done! =D See you next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: Confusion

**AN :**** Sorry for the delay, I had a busy week and I'm also a bit sick at the moment.**

**OMG, I think I love Trudi Canavan right now xD She writes the most epic novels ever! I just adore her writing! I finished the Black Magician Trilogy in tears (both because of the sad ending and the fact it was actually **_**finished**_**) and I'm starting Age of the Five, which is even better :D For people who don't know her, READ HER BOOKS. She's an inspiration for us, fanfiction writers.**

**Maybe I'll write a fanfic about her books?**

**Rundas: Just finish this damn story first! (whacks me on the head)**

**Samus: You're so friggin' irresponsable, never updating on time!**

**Dark Samus: (Glares and cocks her gun)**

**Me: Meh... TT_TT Okay...**

**And once again, thank you dear reviewers! It's so great to know that some people out there actually like my story xD And Jex, too! Thanks Jex! (And please update your stories! I love them! I can't bear seeing them not updated)**

**I don't own Metroid or its characters. I only own this particular storyline.**

**Song for this chapter is "Luminoth (U-mos)" for the Metroid Prime II soundtrack, a great game with great music, as good as the third game. And this song really gives me chills!**

Chapter 4: Confusion

As Rundas walked besides Samus into the hot Bryyoan air, he felt his stomach lurch. He had eaten, or rather been forced to eat by Samus, but the terrible taste of human food was still on his tongue. It may have been good for his health, but he had never tasted such disgusting food. Humans really did have strange tastes.

Samus was wearing her suit again, which he felt suited her more. Seeing her without it had been like seeing Ridley without teeth or a baby Reptilicus: it was just too strange to see such a powerful being so defenceless. He had also put his armour back on, hiding the scars from view and destroying what was left of the PED. He almost regretted that he had to destroy it, the feeling when he was in Hypermode was exhilirating.

But he had no choice. He had almost killed Samus once with it, he didn't want to risk a second time.

He glanced down at Samus. He could only see her eyes through her visor, hard and set in a determined way. He felt pity for the Pirates who would get in her way. Their death would be quick, but painful. After all, he wasn't nicknamed the Hunter for nothing...

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, glancing at him.

He shrugged. "Oh, nothing really."

"Nothing," she repeated sarcastically. "Such a fascinating subject, isn't it? It produces such interesting reactions in people."

"Okay. You wanna know what I think? I'm thinking about that disgusting food you made me eat earlier."

"The— Oh, you mean the sushis. Don't worry, only a part of Human population likes it. I'm not a great cook either, so I guess there are a lot of people out there who cook them much better than I do."

"It's still disgusting," he muttered. "It felt like raw fish stuffed with other stuff."

She stopped and stared at him: "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That sushi is raw fish stuffed with other food."

"It really _is_?" he yelled, and shuddered. "No wonder I couldn't get the taste off my mouth. That's revolting."

"You don't like fish?" she asked, and he could asmost see her raise an eyebrow behind the visor.

"Phryisians _hate_ meat. Whether it's fish or something else," he mimicked throwing up. "Ugh, fish! That is _so_ disgusting." She stayed silent and stared at him: "What?" he asked, suddenly irritated.

"You said you were cast out," she said slowly. "So why do you keep speaking of your people as though you still were part of them and proud of it?"

He winced, and she instantly regretted her question. Why was she so curious, all of a sudden? Why was she asking all these things that were obviously painful to him? Why didn't she just. Shut. Up.

Biting her lip, she said: "Sorry, that was—"

"I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know why I continue to speak of them as my people," he paused. "I should stop, but I won't. I can't. Despite the fact that I am cast out, Phrigisians are still my people. Their blood runs through my veins, their voices were the ones to sing me to sleep as a child, they were the ones to raise me. Phrygisia used to be my home, and despite everything, it still is in my mind." He shook his head. "I can't let go of them." He smirked and turned towards her. "Stupid, isn't?"

"I... I..." she failed to anwer. She gulped. How could she explain it to him? That she felt the exact same way about the Chozo and her own parents? That despite all that time, she couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia everytime she went on a planet where her adoptive species had lived? Could she tell him about the sharp anguish and pain in her heart, everytime she saw a small shild with his parents?

For a second, Samus saw a different Rundas behind the tough ice armour. Not the proud and arrogant one, but another softer side of him who, despite the fact he loved his current life, still regretted the old one and grieved it. A Rundas who, like her, had been wounded deeply by life but tried to hide his old scars from the others. A Rundas who felt as lonely as her sometimes, though he never showed it.

She was stunned by how much they actually resembled each other.

She wanted to say something, to tell him how much she understood him, but she couldn't get the words out of her mouth: "Rundas, I—"

A slight beep in both their earphones interrupted them. Both quickly listened as the AU's electronic voice spoke in their ears:

"Samus, Rundas. I have bad news. The second generator is currently protected by two anti-aircraft turrets."

"Anti-aircraft?" Samus asked. Her eyes narrowed as she let out a curse. Rundas's eyes widened. He had never though her capable of swearing like that. She had always been the kind to kill in silence. She spat: "Those damn Pirates! That means we won't be able to use the ship to destroy it."

"It appears so," the AU replied.

"Hold on," Rundas said. "What if we destroyed the turrets? Then we could destroy the generator when they are offline."

"And the shield would be off for a few days before they could repair it, so we could slip into the Seed! Perfect, Rundas!" she touched a button to the side of her visor. She paused, and Rundas could guess she was viewing the location of the turrets on her map. "They're close. Perfect. We should be back before the night."

"Both turrets are protected by hordes of Pirates," the Aurora warned.

"No problem for us," Rundas grinned at Samus. "After all, aren't we both the greatest Hunters in the Federation?"

She smiled back: "Yeah, we can do this."

"Good luck," the AU said before cutting the communication.

"Allright," Samus started. "So, which generator do we attack first?"

"The nearest," he replied. "Which one is that?"

She checked her map: "The one in the Northern Court. If I do this one and you go to the other—"

"_Whoa._ Hang on," he crossed his arms. "We're staying together. I'm the one who can be Corrupted any second now, remember?"

"What, you're scared?" she snorted. "You, Rundas, the Great Phrygisian hunter, are _scared_?"

"I'm not scared," he protested. "But think of what happened last time. Do you really want to shoot me again?"

"No," she sighed. He was right. They had to stick together, in case Rundas became overloaded with Phazon. "So shouldn't we get going then?" She turned around and started towards the gate, but then Rundas grabbed her arm. She turned back and glared at him: "What _now_?"

"So you plan on walking?" he grinned.

"What else am I supposed to do?" she replied drily.

He smirked, and ice formed underneath his feet, slowly rising him above the ground. Her eyes widened in understanding.

"Interesting," was the only thing she said.

He moved towards her, and hold out his arms. "Okay, hop in."

"What?"and then suddenly: "You're not actually going to carry me, are you?"

"Why not?" he shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm a gentleman."

"Of course you are,"she rolled her eyes. "But that's not what I'm worried about."

"What _are_ you worried about then? I'm not going to drop you either!"

"But I—" How did one explain to a Phrygisian that this gesture was... embarassing for her? But she had no choice. She sighed and walked to him. He smirked and and passed an arm underneath her legs and back, carrying her in what was called, Samus remembered with embarassment, "bridal style".

"Okay," he said, holding her close to his chest. "Let's go."

Samus felt herself and Rundas rise into the air as the ice carried them upwards. She instinctively tightened her grip on his arm. She caught a smirk on his face as she did so, but kept holding his arm nonetheless. Falling from up there wouldn't be so great.

She groaned. _Please let the trip be quick._

Unit 082 was pacing around the turret. He was an elite Pirate Trooper, taller and bulkier than most Pirates. He had been promoted to this planet recently, as leader of the squad guarding the second generator. At first, he had been proud of this, for he would be working for the Corruption of Bryyo along the side of his glorious leader, the Dark Hunter. He was even more satisfied to find that their Mistress had managed to enrol a Federation Hunter to help them. Indeed, the Phrygisian had been of great help, keeping the natives at bay and making the preparations for the Hunter's arrival quicker. It appeared that their Mistress wanted her Corrupted too, and quickly.

That was when everything went wrong.

The Hunter had avoided Corruption easily and killed a large number of Pirates. Eventually, she learned of the existence of the generators and their locations. Unit 082 had heard that many had fallen under her strikes, even those with Hypermode. Then the Phrygisian had been sent to deal with her. The other Pirates had learned with horror that he too had fallen. Even worse, he was no longer under the influence of their Leader and had joined forces with the Hunter. After destroying the first generator beyond repair, they were now both heading towards the second.

Unit 082 stopped and glanced around nervously. He knew he and his squad would be the next target. No matter how many reinforcements had turned in, they would be powerless to stop the Hunter. Only their Mistress could kill her and her frozen ally. But he knew she wouldn't act now. So he could only wait for them to show up and fight with all his might before they'd come in.

He smirked, showing his sharp teeth. He may die, but his death would be another step towards victory. Soon, the Hunter and her new ally would be Corrupted and fighting at their sides. They would finally destroy the hated Federation and rule the Universe. For Phazon. For the Space Pirate Empire. For the Dark Hunter, their Glorious Leader!

Another member of the squad arrived and said:"_Xsana, ragoorh trooksa e'furthar!_" Loosely transtlated as: _Lieutenant, the Hunters have arrived and are heading here!_

"_Ixarha," _Unit 082 replied and nodded. He looked at the sky. It was a good day to die.

"What now?" Rundas asked as they landed on the roof of the building next to the turret. Samus frowned, and then a smirk grew on her face.

"Rundas?"

"What?"

"Have you ever played baseball?"

Unit 082 lokked at the sky. It was a good day to die. Then he frowned. What was that grey ball in the middle of the sky? And why was it getting bigger by the second?

"Incoming!" one of the pirates shouted.

_Oh, crap_, he thought as the ball formed back into Samus Aran and pointed her gun at him. Then he realized he couldn't move, not out of terror but becaus ehis feet were frozen to the ground. He turned around quickly to see that the others were also half-frozen.

"Hail our leader, the Dark—" he yelled, before a beam of light swallowed him whole.

The last thing he heard before the light disappeared and darkness took over was a cold voice saying:

"That was for my parents, Pirate bastard."

Rundas looked at the carnage around him. "Hey, did we have to kill all of them?"

"It was necessary, Rundas," Samus replied as she shot the last Pirate. "One Pirate dead is one threat to the Federation gone forever."

"That's a little too heartless, isn't it?"

Samus froze and turned towards him. Her helmet disappeared, revealing her cold glare: "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't?" he replied, anger starting to take over him. He didn't like her tone of voice. "Because you do?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"And how, if I may ask?"

She gritted her teeth. "Fine then. Does the name of the planet K2-L remind you of something? Well I was born there, and I lived there until they came."

Rundas's anger disappeared, only to be replaced by a feeling of shame. K2-L was a planet attacked by Pirates years ago. It had been a massacre. Hundreds of thousans of humans were killed, tortured or raped in one day, men, women and children alike. The bodies were discovered half-eaten or burned. Rundas now understood her anger. Her family must have been part of the victims. Then he frowned. _Huh? But K2-L was attacked over sixty human years ago... _He looked up at her. _Just how old is she?_

"I know what you're thinking," she said, as though she had read his thoughts. "How old do I look?"

He shrugged. "Twenty, more or less."

She smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "I look young, because thanks to the Chozo blood in my veins, I age slowly. But in fact, I'm over seventy years old."

His eyes widened: "What?!" he choked out. She looked away.

"I know," she laughed humourlessly. "I should be an old woman by now. But I'm not. I'll eventually die of old age in a few hundred years."

"A few hundred _years_??" he gasped. Her mouth curled into a half-smile.

"I'll leave you to ponder on that," she said drily as the smile disappear. "But for now, we have to go to the other turret."

"Oh, uh... Yes, of course..." he walked to her, still shocked by the revelation. Samus was seventy years old? Well, as a Phrygisian, he lived longer than humans, but he hadn't been prepared to a human actually outliving him. He still was older though. He was around eighty human years, but for them, he'd be around twenty-five.

He mused on what it meant. Did Samus have any other powers bestowed on her by the Chozo? She probably did, though he didn't know about them.

He hold out his arms. She grumbled a little bit, but still let herself being lifted off the ground and gathered close to his chest. He suddenly caught a flare of her scent... She smelled good, a bit like strawberry. He couldn't stop breathing in deeply, trying to get more of that nice flavour.

She rose an eyebrow. "Are we going or not?"

"Uh, yes," he replied, feeling his face grow hot. He was suddenly very aware of her form in his arms. He looked at her uncovered face. She was looking at him with puzzlement. Some of strands of blond hair were hanging over her forehead. He had a sudden urge to brush them away, to get a better view of her face.

_She truly is beautiful,_ the thought came out of nowhere, just digging inside his heart of ice, like a gentle flame warming it.

Her eyes locked with his, and behind them, he saw her true age and maturity, but also a passion unlike anything he had ever seen before. As burning as the stars in the sky. Other emotions were mixed within them, like puzzlement, a bit of annoyance, but also... concern. So he hadn't imagined that the other day. He felt like leaning forwards, until their faces would touch, his eyes still locked with hers, and...

_What is wrong with me? _He thought_. Why am I thinking about her that way?_

He sighed as the ice finally lifted them through the air. She looked away, her face slightly flushed. The helmet reappeared, he he felt a twinge of regret as her face disappeared from view.

"Let's go," he simply said.

She nodded, as the ice platform moved them away from the dead Pirates, and the strange new feelings Rundas had felt for Samus.

**AN:**** Well, I'm not sure about that one... But I hope you like it =)**


	5. Chapter 5: New emotions

**AN :**** If I owned Metroid, the other Hunters would still be alive, and Rundas and Samus would be in love. But I don't, dammit! Dx**

**Two songs for this chapter! First is "Hometown Glory" by Adele and second "For the reunion" in the FF 7: Advent Children soundtrack! Both songs are really amazing and fit the scenes completely! Hope you enjoy! Cookies for everyone who reviews! (Two cookies go to Jex xD)**

Chapter 5: Strange emotions

The holographic map appeared in front of Rundas suddenly, marking the ship's position on Bryyo. They were still a few hundred miles from the Seed. They could have gone much faster, but the AU had warned Rundas and Samus they should stay discreet, or thousands of Pirates would converge towards the seed before they arrived. And the last thing they needed was an army of blood-thirsty aliens running after them.

Rundas leaned back and sighed as memories of the last few hours washed over him. After destroying the second turret, he and Samus had called her ship in to destroy the last generator. He remembered feeling smug satisfaction as the generator went into flames and the shield wavered and disappeared completely. After that they went in the ship again, this time heading for the seed. Samus left in her room, saying she had "something to do alone". Rundas didn't like it. Why was she always so secretive with him, even after all they had went through together? He had even told her that he was cast out, something he never told anyone, not even the Federation officers. And yet there she was, refusing to tell him what was going on her mind or even why she needed to be alone...

Suddenly, a cry of pain followed by a curse shook him out of his gloomy state of mind. He shot out of the chair and ran to Samus's room. He knocked:

"Samus?"

"I'm alright, don't come in!" the cold reply came. He gritted his teeth. Here she was, hiding things from him again. This time he didn't obey and opened the door. His eyes widened as he saw her.

"Rundas!" Samus yelled, fury evident on her face. "I told you—"

"What happened to your back?" he asked, horrified. Samus was on her bed, a medi-pack next to her, along with what looked like a big, bloody needle. She was clad in her underwear, though that wasn't what shocked him. Her back and shoulders were covered with bruises and wounds, some of them bleeding continuously. One of them, on the back of her shoulder was hanging open like a big mouth covered in bright red lipstick.

"None of your business," she replied, glaring at him.

"None of my business? You're covered in wounds, half-bleeding to death, and then you tell me it's none of my business?"

"I didn't have the time to patch up after Bryyo Fire, that's all," she gritted her teeth.

He looked at her in silence, then walked to her bed and grabbed the needle. "If you gonna do something, do it well," he said drily. "Turn around and stay still."

"What?"

"Oh, just turn around. I fell like _hitting_ you right now, you know? Don't make it worse for me, please."

"Why should I—" she stopped when she saw the evident fury in his eyes.

"Turn. Around. Now."

She muttered something between her teeth, but did as she was told. He heard her suck in a deep breath as he started stitching her wound. He was surprised at how well she could stand the pain. Having a giant needle thrust into an open wound wasn't exactly pleasant, especially for humans and their fragile and sensitive skin. It took him a while, but he finally managed to stitch all her wounds correctly.

"You can really be stupid sometimes, you know," he said as he took the towel and gently wiped the blood from the wounds.

"I was fine doing it myself," she said quietly.

"Like you were fine dropping down that mine shaft with Ridley?"

She didn't reply for a moment, then finally said: "I'm big enough to look after myself, you know."

"What did you expect me to do? To watch you as you make a mess out of yourself? I'm not that kind of guy, Samus. I care for my friends."

_Friends_. Why did that word seem so false when he said it? As though he was lying to her when he said it ?

_Perhaps because being just friends doesn't satisfy you,_ a voice whispered in his mind.

_Stop it, _he replied. _She is a friend, that's all._

_And a beautiful one on top..._

_Shut the hell up! Even if I were in love with her, which I am _not, _she clearly isn't._

_Who knows? You can't read her mind. She might be thinking about you the same way..._

_No. Definitely _not_. We're not even the same species, for Heaven's sake! And we're fellow Bounties. I don't love her, she doesn't love me, and that's the end of it. And why am I even talking to myself? Great, looks like I'm mad after all. Dark Samus succeeded where the Marking didn't. I'm a crazy, exiled, Phrygisian bounty hunter who may or may not be falling in love with a half- human colleague, Samus Aran. That's just fantastic._

He finished wiping the red liquid from her skin, and put it to the side.

"Rundas?" he froze as Samus spoke in a small voice. "Thanks for patching me up. You were right, I probably overreacted..."

"Don't mention it," he said, sighing dramatically. "What you would do without me, I can't imagine."

Her mouth curled into a half-smile, and she chuckled. "Oh, I'd probably be out of work and forced to beg in the streets of the Federation."

He laughed loudly. The simple idea of Samus _begging_, of all things, was hilarious and ridiculous at the same time. She joined in his laughter and pretty soon they couldn't stop. It was just so _good_ to have the tension from the last few days being lifted off their shoulders, even if it was for a few minutes. They laughed and laughed until Samus uttered a cry of pain and her hand shot up to her aching shoulder.

"Samus?" Rundas immediately stopped and looked at her in worry.

"I'm okay," she said, though her face was contorted in a grimace of pain. He hesitated, then his hand reached for the wound. She froze as he pressed his palm against it, then relaxed. Its low temperature was soothing the pain perfectly. She exhaled deeply.

"Is it okay?" he asked.

She nodded, and sighed as he rubbed her back gently. He hesitated, then pushed his luck further by passing an arm around her waist. To his surprise, she leaned back in the embrace, against his cold chest. They stayed in that position for a long time, simply listening to each other's breaths.

"Well," Rundas started then chuckled nervously. "This is nice."

She laughed softly, then turned to look at him. He could see her true age in her eyes, the maturity and all the pain she had endured through the years. Once again, he felt that sudden need to protect her take over him. He wanted to keep on holding on to her forever, whatever the cost. An image of Ligerya flashed into his mind, but he pushed it away. What he was feeling for Samus right now was too strong for him to be reminded of the past.

Without realizing it, he leaned forwards. Her breathing quickened. Their lips were very close now, like fire and ice about to meet. He whispered her name. "Samus." She didn't answer, but instead raised her hand and cupped the side of his head gently.

And then, very slowly, he moved in to kiss her.

As his lips brushed against hers, both forgot immediately where they were, what they were doing or even _who_ they were. Samus wrapped her arms around his strong neck and breathed in deeply, as Rundas hold her close against him. Neither of them was thinking of the consequences of their act, just how comfortable it was, curled up together on the bed...

It was that moment that the Pirate Raiding vessel that had been following them for the last few minutes launched a missile against the ship.

Samus heard the sound of the explosion before Rundas did. Breaking the kiss, she pulled him to the ground before he could protest. She probably saved his life in the process, for the missile blew a big hole in the place where they had previously been sitting. For a few seconds, they just stayed on the ground, both stunned by the shock. Then Rundas asked:

"What in the name of Kuchatra was _that_?"

Samus didn't linger to answer. She shot up and raced to the command room, her suit materialising around her body as she did so. Rundas just stayed in the room for a few seconds, speechless. Then he ran after her.

_Aw, crap. Here we go again._

Samus swore under her breath as the ship's monitors failed one after the other. Smoke was filling the cabin, which didn't bode very well for them. Rundas joined after a few seconds. He glanced at the panels, which were all glowing bright red.

"Well, this is not good," he said.

"Not good at all," Samus agreed, then swore again. "Shit. If they hit us again, the ship will—"

Another explosion interrupted her sentence. She rose a hand up to protect herself, though she knew it would be useless against the blast. A second before it reached her, a frozen shield intercepted the fire, melting in the process. She looked back at Rundas, who only shrugged.

"We're even, now."

"Hold on!"

"Wha—" before he could finish what he was saying, the ship's reactor failed and started to fall to the ground. He gripped the command chair tightly.

"We're gonna crash-land!" he yelled.

Samus didn't reply, but shot a missile to the side. A large hole appeared, big enough for both of them.

"Come on! We gotta go!"

"Are you crazy?! We're gonna _jump_?!" he yelled again.

"Quit being a baby and come on!" she grabbed hold of his arm, and pushed him out of the hole before jumping after him.

For a few seconds, she just fell, as if floating in the air. Then her body hit the hard ground, gushing the air out of her lungs. Pain shot out in various parts of her body, included the ones that Rundas had stitched mere minutes ago. _Rundas._

_Please be alive, please don't die..._ She tried to get up, but collapsed before she could. She cried out in pain. She was seriously wounded, and she knew it. Though a normal human would have died from the crash, she didn't. But her body was so broken that she couldn't do anything. From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blue.

"Samus!"

_He's okay,_ she thought, relief flooding through her. Then she sighed and let unconscience take her away completely.

Her last thoughts before dark took over was for her crashed ship.

_Crap. I just had it waxed._

**AN:**** OH HO HO. Things have gone a little too hot for our two Hunters. And they kissed! Tadaa! =D I should have waited a bit longer before that moment, but I really wanted to write it now, so...**

**R&R guys! Love ya all!**


	6. Chapter 6: Memories

**AN :**** No, I'm not dead Dx just had a bit of a inspiration problem. RigelGlyth gave me a great idea in one of her fanfics, one you shall see in this chapter. All the credit for that idea goes to her, not me! Thanks again, Jex =D You're a source of inspiration to me!**

**Song for this chapter is "Beyond the wasteland" in the FF7 Advent Children. Hope you like this song! (and the chapter of course xD)**

Chapter 6: Memories

Something tickled Samus's nose. A smell, she realized. The smell of cooked bread. Cooked bread. When had she last smelt that delicious fragrance? It seemed like centuries ago.

"When will she wake up?" a strained voice asked. Rundas's voice, she realized.

"Soon, if she isn't already," another, older voice replied. It was an unfamiliar voice, with a strange accent. As though he was foreign. "Can you hear me, young Chozo?"

Samus moaned and opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was the sun radiating through cloth. The ceiling was made of cloth, she realized. They were in a tent. A very large tent, nonetheless. She was lying on what felt like a wool matress, a blanket tugged to her chin. The smell came to her again, and she felt her stomach grumble. How long had she been asleep?

"Finally," Rundas muttered. She turned to look at him. He had a bandage on his arm and his armour was slightly cracked, but otherwise he looked unharmed. "You took ages to wake up."

She snorted. "Excuse me if I don't know how to fly on ice. I didn't know it would be so high and I didn't have anything to protect myself."

"That's the spirit, young Chozo," the other voice said from behind her. Samus turned around and gasped. Despite her injuries, she leaped backwards and reached for a large knife on the side.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, Samus!" Rundas yelled and raised his arms. "He saved our lives."

"It's a friggin' _Reptilicus!_" she yelled back. The person whose voice she had heard was, indeed, one of the giant four-armed lizards. It smiled, revealing its long teeth.

"Do not worry, young Chozo," it said, as Samus continued to glare at it. "I am not one of the Primals. I'm just an old Lord of Science."

"Impossible," she snarled. "The last one died years ago."

"Ah," it said thoughtfully. "So you read the lores. But don't you remember, in the last lore, that the author said that the Prophetess with him had escaped? Well, I am her son, to whom she left all the secrets of the last Lord of Science."

"Why should I believe you?" she said warily.

"Well, I healed you two when I could have killed you from the start. And I invited you into my home, which is no small thing. I could have left you to die out there or sold you to the Pirates. There are a lot of reasons for which you should believe me, young Chozo, and those are just part of them."

Samus glanced at Rundas, who was looking at her, amused.

"He's telling the truth, Samus," he said, crossing his arms. "Without him, we'd both be dead by now. He found me as I was trying to drag you to safety, and brought us here. He healed our wounds and gave me food. There's nothing for you to be worried about."

Samus glared at the old Reptilicus one last time, then dropped the knife. She still looked wary though.

"Thank you, young Chozo," he said to her, smiling.

"How do you know—" she started, but the old man held up a clawed hand to stop her.

"Let me get you some food, first. You have been sleeping for two days. You are bound to be hungry. I found some ingredients in what was left of your ship, and took the liberty to use them to cook some decent food. I hope you do not mind."

She shook her head. What was _left_ of her ship. It seemed that she and Rundas were stranded here for the moment. She may as well make good use of it.

"By the way, young Chozo..." the Reptilicus started.

"Samus," she said automatically. "Samus Aran."

"So your friend told me," he pointed to Rundas, who shrugged. "But I think young Chozo suits you better. I should get going," he added, and turned towards the door. "And by the way, my name is K'tar." He lifted a, pan of cloth and disappeared in another part of the tent, leaving Rundas and Samus alone. For a few minutes they didn't say anything, then Samus broke the awkward silence and asked:

"So... Seems like I owe you my life yet again, huh?"

Rundas nodded slowly: "Yep, looks like it. We're constantly saving each other's lives, aren't we?"

She laughed without humour: "Yeah, we are. We owe each other a half-dozen of debts, now."

He chuckled, then stayed silent for a moment, before saying somewhat awkwardly: "Uh, Samus. About what happened..."

"What happened to the ship? Yeah, I—"

"Uh, no, not the ship," he seemed embarassed. "But you know, just before the attack..."

Just before the attack? What is he— Oh God. Her face changed to a horrified expression as she remembered the kiss. What the hell was I thinking then? How could I just... do that? He's not even human! Even if he was, this is not the time for such things!

Rundas looked just as embarassed. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, then blurted out: "I'm sorry."

"..."

"I shouldn't have... I mean— Dammit! I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it was just because I thought we wouldn't survive…"

"No," Samus breathed deeply. "It's my fault too." His eyes widened. "I should've stopped this."

He stayed silent, then said: "We're still friends though?"

She stared at him. How could they be friends if they were likely to fall for each other any day? _But I have no choice_, she thought. _I don't love him, but I respect him. I admire him. I feel concerned for him. And we're stuck together on this mission. If this leads to our downfall, then so be it. We need to continue the mission_.

"Yes," she said and smiled slightly, though she knew the smile was false. "We're still friends."

Someone coughed. Both of them turned around and stared at K'tar, who had just arrived carrying what a plate with a loaf of bread, some salted meat, and a green thing that looked like vegetation from the planet.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything," he said, and put the plate in front of Samus. "I thought you should eat something before we talk. You probably have many questions, Young Chozo."

Samus glanced at Rundas, who shrugged.

"All right," she said coldly, glaring at K'tar. "But if ever there's anything in that food that ought not to be there, you shall not live to regret it."

The old Reptilicus smiled tiredly. "Of course."

"Sir! Lord Ridley!"

The giant dragon turned around to see a small Pirate run to him and fall to his knees. "This better be important," he thundered.

"The Dark Hunter wishes to see you, my Lord."

Ridley froze for a moment, glaring at the trembling being in front of him. "Did she say why?"

"She only said it was important, sir."

"Fine, then," Ridley finished putting the rest of his armor on. "Tell her our Leader I shall arrive in a few minutes."

"I will, sir, thank you, sir," the Pirate said, obviously relieved that Ridley hadn't ripped his head off. He had heard tales about what the Pirate General had done to passerby Pirates when he was in a bad mood, and most of them involved torture and generally painful deaths. He turned towards the door and ran as fast as possible.

It was only when he had left that Ridley pondered the words of the messenger. _Why on Zebes would she want me to come and see her?_ he thought. He wasn't displeased by the summons, just surprised. Despite the fact he was a high-ranked general, Dark Samus had only talked to him once or twice since she had came to power, and every time was so she could give him orders. Still, despite her obvious indifference to him, Ridley was one of her most fervent disciples and adored her. To him, she represented the beginning of a new era where Pirates would rule the Universe, she represented the downfall of the Federation and Samus Aran. Would she have called him only to ask him to commit suicide, he would have plunged his own claws in his chest the second the order would have left her mouth.

With this thought in mind and his best armor covering his body, he unfeld his wings and set off to the Leviathan, where Dark Samus spent most of her time at the moment. His heart was beating so fast, he felt as though it would explode in his chest. He was going to see her again! He would get to see her in the flesh, to speak to her, even to hear her speak to HIM! He felt like doing some looping in the air, but the thought of what might happen to his reputation if he were to be seen restrained him.

As he neared the Seed, he slowed his pace and landed smoothly on the dark ground. He passed the shield's protection without any problem, which meant she was expecting him. Sure enough, the second he entered its core, Dark Samus's high, cold voice rang in his head:

_Come in, Ridley. I have been waiting for you. We have much to discuss._

Ridley gulped, but obeyed and entered.

His heart leaped as he saw his leader's dark form on the other side of the seed. He immediately dropped to the floor and bowed as lowly as possible, not saying a word. She glanced at him, amused but silent.

"You may rise," she finally said. Ridley obeyed, resisting the temptation to look at her in the eyes. "It has been a long time, Ridley. How are the preparations going?"

"Perfectly, Great Leader."

"Good." She walked to a small stage, where the Phazon had accumulated to create a deformed throne-like chair. She sat on it and rested her chin in her hand, looking thoughtful. Ridley risked a glance at her face, and lowered his eyes again.

_Gods of the Pirates, she is beautiful. _

Yes, Ridley definitely adored Dark Samus. But with that adoration came another feeling that he tried to smother as much as he could: desire. He had never desired a female more ardently than his new leader. Was it because of the raw power that emanated from her being? Or because of the intelligence and ruthlessness of her plans? In any case, he had never admired or longed for a female that much.

"Are you listening, Ridley?" Dark Samus's voice was annoyed now. Fear suddenly gripped Ridley's stomach. Ha had been so absorbed in her contemplation that he hadn't listened to a word of what she was saying.

"Forgive me, Dark Hunter," he said and dropped to the floor again. She may have been beautiful, but she was also dangerous.

She sighed and shot him a glare, but continued: "I was just saying, Ridley, that I decided to share with you news I received a few days tomorrow."

"Yes, Dark Hunter."

She sighed again, and leaned back. "Rundas has switched sides."

This time, Ridley couldn't help himself. His eyes shot up to hers in shock.

"He did WHAT?"

"I lost control over him as he attacked Aran. She has, somehow, managed to break my grip on his mind and soul."

"But it's impossible," Ridley blurted out. "You took control of him yourself…" he trailed off as her gaze became furious.

"Are you suggesting this was MY fault, Ridley?" she snarled. He paled.

"No, Great Leader! Of course not!"

She exhaled deeply then looked at him again: "That damn slut is constantly meddling with my plans. Now that Rundas joined her, it's even worse. They destroyed both generators on Bryyo in a ridiculous amount of time."

"Leader," Ridley pleaded. "Let me go on Bryyo and kill them. My only wish is to kill Samus Aran!"

"No," she snapped. "You are too useful for that. You may be killed. Anyway, I also received another message from our spies in the Federation. Apparently, on the way to the Seed, Aran and Rundas's ship was shot down by one of our Pirates' vessel."

"What? She's dead?"

"I don't know," Dark Samus said, frowning. "The Feds can't contact any of them, but they could be hiding. I sent other Pirates to the Seed for extra protection." A cruel smile spread on her face. "But even if they have survived, then it won't be for long. Some troops are searching the area. Even if they have to take down every rock, every vegetal from Bryyo, they will find them and bring them here. To be punished."

Ridley suddenly smirked. He would enjoy killing the woman who had made his life a series of life-saving surgeries.

"But that is not the only reason I called you," Dark Samus continued and stood up. She walked to him as he stared at her with wide red eyes.

"Leader?"

She didn't say anything, but smirked as her finger faintly traced the outline of his chest. He gulped. All the feelings he had tried to smother were now brought back to the surface by this simple touch. He started to long for something different, something more… Physical…

"You are a good soldier, Ridley," she said, continuing her light caress. "Not only a good soldier, but an intelligent one. Much more intelligent than the idiots out there." Her arm dropped and she looked at him seriously. "Which is why I decided to give you a special task."

His heart was hammering in his chest. "Anything you wish, Dark Hunter."

The smirk disappeared. "This place," she gestured to the Leviathan around them. "Is very, very important for our plan. Aran could easily evade our troops and destroy it without a problem. The Seed needs a Guardian. A skilled Guardian…" she trailed off, her eyes locking with his. "A Guardian I can trust. And you are the only Pirate here that I trust, Ridley." She ran a finger across his jaw and her smile turned to a sneer as she saw his breathing catch. "I want you to guard this place and advise me while I'm here. Not only as a Guardian, but also as a councilor. As someone who can help me in my decisions. Do you accept this offer, Ridley?"

His thoughts were blurring. Another time he might have yelled she was crazy, jumped on her to throttle her and go away covered in blood. But the light, suggestive touch across his face was breaking his concentration, making his thoughts wander somewhere else, imagining all the things he could do to her…

"Yes," he breathed and closed his eyes. "I accept."

She smirked. "Good. Now there's just one last thing to do."

Before he could ask what she meant, she thrust her hand into his chest and started pouring Phazon into the hole she had created, ignoring his roars and screams of pain.

"Done," Samus pushed her empty plate aside and stared at K'tar. "So? Who are you, why did you save us, what is this place, how did you know I am a Chozo, and what happened during the two days I was asleep?"

"You are very curious, it seems, Young Chozo," the old man smiled faintly. "Who I am… Well, as I told you, I am the last Lord of Science. My mother was the Prophetess, forced to flee when the Primals attacked the author of the lores. But that Lord of Science was also my father. My mother was pregnant when she ran away. She gave birth to me in this place," he gestured all around. "And raised me here. She taught me everything I needed to know and made a Lord of Science. Unfortunately, she was killed by the Primals, while trying to find some herbs for healing. Since then, I live alone, creating lores which contain my secrets, just like my father."

"I see," Samus said flatly. "What about this place?"

"This tent is in a small valley surrounded by sharp cliffs. No Primal or Pirate can find us here."

"If so," Samus interrupted, "How did you take us here?"

Rundas chuckled. "Tunnels."

"What?"

"Your arrogant friend is right."

"Wha— Who are you calling arrogant, you qyasar!" Rundas roared, his cheerfulness evaporating.

"I do not know what 'Qyasar' means," K'sar said calmly, "Though I do not doubt it is an insult. Anyway, Young Chozo, as your friend says, there are tunnels underneath the surface of Bryyo. The entrances are all very well hidden, and the network itself is so vast and complicated that only people who know where they're going can come out of there alive. Luckily, I am one of them. So when I went to the surface and saw the carcass of your ship and Pirates lurking around, I knew they were looking for someone." His eyes switched to hers. "You asked me how I recognized you. Well, when I was a child, one of the Chozos came to visit my mother to take news of the planet. Before leaving, he talked about a young child he and his friend had rescued from a Pirate raid and were raising together. He told us that he had merged his DNA with the child's, making her much stronger and powerful than normal humans. He also told us that the child, Samus Aran, was training to join the Federation, though she'd leave soon after to become a Bounty Hunter." He paused. "The moment I saw you, Samus, I knew you were that half-human child. So when I saw your wounded friend trying to carry your unconscious body to shelter, I couldn't just stand there. I helped him here and took care of both of you until now, in memory of this Chozo."

Samus stayed silent for a long time, her eyes fixed on her plate. Rundas was baffled. He had heard rumours of Samus's origins, but had never believed them. Now he was learning that the Chozos, who were supposed to be extinct, had raised her as a child. And that the reason she hated Pirates was because of her family, who had been killed in that raid.

She sure went through a lot, he thought. Then a flow of vivid memories caught him by surprise: His father praising him for his ice-wielding skills… He and the other children playing… Gyrrio, his twin brother, following him through the ruins… His parents proclaiming him as Heir to the Clan… Kissing Lygerria for the first time… the passionate night that followed after… Their stillborn child in her shaking arms… His dreams of freedom and of exploring the Galaxy… And the Hunters who came and swore, that if he brought them the best ice, they would—

"That Chozo," Samus's quiet voice shook him out of his dreamy state. "Was he called Gray Voice?"

"He was, yes."

Though her face was set in a hard, determined expression, Rundas could have sworn he had seen her eyes shimmering with tears.

"I see," she finally said. "Thank you for helping us. We must go, now." She rose to her feet, but K'tar stopped her.

"Hold it, Young Chozo," he said firmly. "Stay until tonight at least," As she opened her mouth to argue, his voice became more commanding. "You will need a map for the tunnels. You cannot go in broad daylight without getting killed. You will also need food, water, and other necessities. The Seed is a day and half away from here, but you'll also need some things for coming back. Your ship has already started repairing itself, so you will be able to take it once you come back. But at least wait until night has fallen. Your wounds should be healed by then."

Samus seemed to want to say something, but she didn't, and simply nodded.

"You will also have to contact the Federation."

The Federation?

Samus swore so heavily that Rundas actually learned new swear words that day. "They'll think we're dead! We haven't contacted them or anything—"

"And they were probably prepared for us to die," Rundas said as peeked out of the tent. "We have company."

Samus ran to the gap in the cloth and looked at the cloudy sky. In it, she could see a small, Hunter-class ship descend on the Planet.

"Well, that means two things," Rundas said. "Either the Feds think we may have survived and are worried for our well-being, so they sent a rescue team. Or, and I'm sure that is exactly what is happening, they decided we were better off dead and sent another money-hungry fool to finish what we have started."

"Shit." Samus ran a hand in her hair. K'tar looked at them and sighed.

"Well, I suppose we should start packing for the trip."

**AN:**** The lores mentioned are the ones that tell of Bryyo's history in the game. The Lords of Science and everything were all fully explained in these, so for more information, finish Bryyo xD**

**Hope you liked it, and as you see, I added a DarkSamusX Ridley in this, it's a cool couple. See you soon and please review! It helps!**


	7. Chapter 7: The threat

**AN :**** Well hi again! I'm really sorry for taking so long =( I'll do better from now on, I swear! I wanted to thank all of you who review my story and suscribe or add it to their faves! This is really encouraging for me, so thanks everyone! =D Please continue to review, even if it's bad! I need constructive criticism so I can improve some bits! Thank you so much again!**

**I don't own Metroid, its universe or its characters. I only own the current plot and one or two OCs.**

**Song for this chapter is "Summer Overture" by Clint Mansell (Requiem for a dream soundtrack)! It really inspired this chapter! And there's a slight Lord of the Rings reference in this, see if you can catch it ;) Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: The threat

...And the Newborn shall come, born to the humans, but raised by the People. Their blood shall mix with hers, their strength shall become hers, and she will become a Hunter. Feared by the Dark Ones everywhere she goes. And then the Great Poison shall spread in the Universe, and the Newborn shall destroy it, for she is the only one capable of it. But the Great Poison shall fight back, sending a Dark hunter of their own, born to the corpse of the Worm... And the Newborn and the Dark Hunter shall fight, and the Newborn shall be helped by the Banished One, but the Banished One will steal the Newborn's greatest weapon by mistake: her heart...

_**End of Chozo lore.**_

(---)

"Thanks for everything, K'tar," Rundas said and held out his hand. The Reptilicus stared at it, obviously wondering what that strange gesture meant. Rundas saw that and said: "Uhh... You're supposed to shake it. It's a human gesture to say goodbye." K'tar frowned, but shaked his hand anyway, though he did it with the wrong hand. Then he smiled and said to Rundas:

"Goodbye, Ice Hunter. It was a pleasure to meet you," he added something in a guttural language Samus didn't understand, but Rundas replied shortly in the same language. _Must be Phrygisian,_ she thought.

K'tar then turned to her and said: "I have uploaded your map, Young Chozo. Now you should be able to see the tunnels on it. The way to the Seed is marked in orange."

"Thanks," replied Samus drily, as she checked her visor.

He chuckled: "I am happy to have met you before I died, young Chozo. Now I will be able to go in peace." He traced the form of a circle in the air and supprisingly, said in old Chozo: "_May the Spirits of the Ancestors enlighten you forever._"

Samus's eyes widened, then she half-smiled and finished the ritual greeting: "_May their wisdom guide you for all of eternity._"

He chuckled, then went back to his tent. "Good luck!" he cried before entering the little hut again. For a moment, both Samus and Rundas stayed there in silence, then Rundas shrugged and entered the tunnel. "Let's go." Samus followed quickly and swiftly behind him.

For hours they walked in the darkness, guided only by Samus's map. After five hours, Rundas sighed and said: "Can't we stop and rest for a second?"

"Are you kidding?" Samus replied. "Of course not. We have to get to the Seed as soon as possible."

"Phrygi— I mean, _I_ am not used to walking so long. Normally I just use my ice powers!"

"Good for you," she daid drily. "But it's time you learn to move in the Human way: walking."

He mumbled something about Samus's stamina then went silent. Another half-an-hour passed before Rundas started to whine again: "Come on! This is getting tiring!"

Samus rolled her eyes: "When it comes to a tiny walk, you're as whiny as a spoilt rotten child."

"You're annoying."

"You're acting like a kid."

"I saved your life."

"I saved yours too."

"I saved yours three times."

"Three— Where does that number come from?"

As Rundas opened his mouth to reply, they heard a distant explosion. Both immediately tensed. Samus started to charge her beam and Rundas let a bit of ice running over his hands. Just in case.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, his eyes trying to pierce the darkness of the tunnel. Samus quickly checked her visor and gasped.

"What?" Rundas turned to her.

"It's the place where the other Bounty landed! He's being attacked!" she started forwards. "We gotta help him—" He caught her arm.

"No Samus!" he yelled. "We need to go to the Seed, you said it yourself!"

"Get off me!" she ordered and wriggled her arm free of his grip. Rundas swore as she dashed to another branch of the tunnel, but followed her anyway.

"Samus! Come back!" he called. He cursed again as he saw her running out of the tunnel.

Into broad daylight.

Rundas stopped just at the exit, caught between continuing the mission or going to help her.

_Leave her,_ he thought. The sounds of the battle were now very close. _You have to finish the mission, with or without Samus. She's perfectly okay without you._ He peeked outside. The Pirates were now directing their attacks on Samus, attacking with a ferocity he had never seen in them. Samus was ducking and knocking a lot of them out, but he could see she was getting tired, and that her wounds were threatening to reopen. _Leave her,_ he desperately tried to get himself to move. _You need to destroy the seed._

At that moment, one gigantic and vicious-looking Pirate pushed his way throught the other Pirates to her and slammed Samus into the wall. Her cry of pain echoed through the place. A memory flashed in front of Rundas's eyes...

_Shyar had fallen to the ground, his wounds bleeding like fountains of blue blood. Rikacha walked to him, one of his four hands bearing the giant spear. The young Phrygisian tried to get away, but Rikacha had already thrust his spear into his leg. Shyar yelled in pain and stopped crawling. Rikacha shrugged and turned to the others._

"_So, Tar'umi," he said, turning to the other Phrygisian. "What do we do if he doesn't give his consent to let us enter the Chamber?"_

_The young man looked at Shyar, who was staring at him in shock and terror. He probably hadn't understood that Tar'umi was helping the Hunters, working for his Clan's downfall. He had probably thought that he was a prisoner, like him. Now the truth of the betrayal seemed to sink in at last and he started to beg:_

"_Tar'umi..." he extended a hand towards his former companion. "You know it's wrong, stop it.."_

_Rikacha sniffed in disdain and crushed Shyar's hand underneath his foot. "You haven't answered my question, Tar'umi!" he said to the young man, whose expression showed the beginning of doubt. "Remember that if you don't tell me, I'll be more than happy to torture _him_ for an answer."_

"_Don't let them do this, Tar'umi!" Shyar yelled, icy tears streaking down his face. "Please... Didn't you think of the others? Of Rymmoa? Gyrrio? Lygerria? What will happen if you—"_

"_Silence," Xorta hissed in a deep voice. His four crimson eyes were glaring at the boy, who cringed. "Tar'umi, you said you'd help us, and you have until now. Now it's too late to go back. Tell us what to do to access the Chamber immediately!"_

"_Easy, Xorta," Eivlys said in a cold voice. She pushed her long purple hair out of her white eyes. "The boy has just joined us. It must be hard for him to betray his people already. Tar'umi," she added gently, "Didn't you say you wanted to become a Hunter? Now is your final test: tell us how to enter the Chamber without its Guardian's consent."_

_Tar'umi took a deep breath. This was the point of no return. He turned to Shyar: "I am sorry, my friend. For this more than everything." Then he added without emotion. "You need to kill the Guardian to access the Chamber."_

_A mad grin appeared on Rikacha's gray face. "Works fine for me." Ignoring Shyar's begging, he thrust him against the wall. "After you, Tar'umi."_

_Tar'umi's heart sank with horror as he saw Rikacha toss the spear towards him. He wanted to protest, but he knew it was too late. He had to do this. He no longer had had the choice._

"_All right," he said, trying to keep his voice firm. "But I will use my own means for that." He walked to Shyar, who was struggling heavily. He placed a hand on his friend's chest and looked at him in the eyes. In them, he could see horror, grief, anger, confusion, and many other eomtions he didn't want to see. _

"_Kuchatra forgive me," he whispered, and summoned ice in his hand._

_Shyar gasped and looked down at the ice spire which had erupted through his chest. He looked at Tar'umi and tried to say something, but whatever words he tried to say were choked by the blood bubbling in his throat. His eyes rolled and his hands fell slack to the side as Tar'umi heard him exhale one last time._

_Behind them, the door to the Chamber clicked open._

_As the other Hunters hooped and shouted in joy and raced inside, Eivlys walked to Tar'umi, who was gently laying his friend's body to the ground and chanting prayers under his breath. She layed a hand on his shoulder._

"_I'm a murderer," he whispered, tears streaming down his face._

"_You did what's best," she simply said and went to join the others in the Chamber, leaving Tar'umi sobbing heavily over the young Phrygisian's body._

...he drew ice and fired it at the Pirate. It shrieked as its hand froze, then cracked in a hundred little pieces. Samus leaped back and sent a missile in its heart, and the Pirate sank to the groung, lifeless. The others groaned and prepared themselves to attack. Rundas rushed to Samus's side as she charged her beam.

"Thank you," she quickly said. "Another life debt to you, huh?"

"I'm saving your life so often now that it's gonna be impossible for you to repay me," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes: "I'm Samus Aran. Nothing's impossible for _me._"

He chuckled: "Who's the arrogant one now— Whoa!" He barely avoided one of the Pirates' shot. "That was close! By the way, where's that Hunter you tried to save?"

"Over there," she pointed to a little cave, where a silhouette was hiding in the darkness. "He's not exactly brave, isn't he?"

"I guess he's a newbie," said Rundas as he froze a few Pirates. "Nice," he added as Samus quickly exploded the frozen figures with a missile. "How many have you got until now?"

"I'd say about thirty-two— thirty-three," she added in haste after blowing a Pirate's head. "What about you?"

"Twenty-six... Seven..." he counted as he froze many Pirates. "Twenty-eight... Whoa!" he gazed at the Berserker Lord who was pushing his way through the others and roared.

Immediately Samus glanced at Rundas: "He's mine!" Before he could protest, Samus started firing at its armour's weak points and destroyed them quickly. The monster threw its head back and roared as the armoured plate on his back cracked open like a broken shell. Samus jumped on it, Phazon pouring from her armour. _Hypermode_. As she fired at it, the Berserker Lord shrieked once, briefly, before collapsing to the ground. Samus twirled backwards and landed smoothly, holding her cannon to the Pirates who had frozen in fear. The deafly silence was broken by Rundas:

"...That only counts as one!"

As though they had waited for him to speak to flee, the rest of the Pirates backed away, cursing and snarling in their strange language. As the last one neared the darkness, it turned and glared at them once before vanishing in the shadows.

For a moment, they just stood in silence before a new voice spoke out, with a strange metallic tone but also youthful enthusiasm to it:

"That was awesome!"

Both Hunters immediately tensed and pointed their weapons at the new, tall silhouette which had emerged from the shadows. It raised its arms up: "Whoa, whoa! Hey, I'm a friend!"

"Show yourself!" Samus snarled. The figure advanced in the sunlight, but it was still covered by a large cloak which obscured its features. "Who are you?"

"I didn't think you'd still be alive," it cocked its head to one side. "Well, you're the best Hunters in the Universe, of course you're alive!"

Rundas snorted in amusement and lowered his weapon, but Samus was still aiming at it. "Who are you?"

"Good to meet you, Samus Aran," the figure turned to Rundas. "_And you, Tar'umi. I have heard of your exploits for a long time_."

Rundas's eyes widened. The figure had spoken in Phrygisian! And it knew his name... Who was that person?

"What?" the figure said, perplexed. "You thought you were the only one of your kind in this business?"

Samus sucked in a quick breath. "What?"

The figure shrugged, then took off his cloak as Samus and Rundas just stared.

Blue-grey armoured plates. Tall and bulky figure with a short torso. Ice-blue eyes. The ressemblance with Rundas was too strong for a coincidence.

They were the same species.

"You are Phrygisian?" Rundas said after a long time. The other shrugged.

"I used to live in the Yrrana Clan, but I left two days after my coming-of-age ceremony and hid on one of the Federation's vessels. After that, I just signed in as a Bounty." He grinned. "You looked surprised."

"I wasn't expecting any one like you," Rundas said coldly.

"Could someone please explain to me _what _is going on?" Samus intervened. Rundas was about to answer, when a low hiss came from the right. All three turned to the cliff next to them, where a Primal Reptilicus was gazing at them and snarling. Calling for help.

"Well, I dunno for you, but I am _not_ staying here much longer," the Phrygisian shrugged.

(***)

The Phygisian boy was named Takan. He had started as a Bounty Hunter three months ago, or so he said. Since he was a boy, he had heard of how Rundas had been exiled, and had became one of the best Hunters in the Universe. Full of admiration and rebellion, he had left the planet in order to follow his idol's path. Pretty soon, though, he realized he wasn't cut for this job. The Phrygisians' deep reluctance to harm any other being was still very anchored in him, and his powers weren't as good as Rundas's. But the Federation still gave this mission to him, believing that he could develop as a Hunter even fiercer than Rundas, which made the latter snort with amusement.

"I landed okay, but my ship was old and already half-broken," he explained as he ate a piece of bread they had shared with him. "It took two blasts for the Pirates to transform it in a piece of smouldering metal." He sighed. "Everything –including my radio- was destroyed."

"Chotra!" Rundas swore in Phrygisian, making the boy jump. Apparently, 'Chotra' must have been a terrible curse. "I was hoping that we could tell them we were alive!"

"I never believed you were dead anyway," Takan shook his head. "You're not the kind that dies easily, and just because your radio was down didn't mean you were killed. But Humans are the most cocky and annoying race I've ever met." He glanced at Samus, whos eyebrows had raised so high they almost disappeared under her fringe. "No offence."

"No harm done," she shrugged and bit into the Hopper meat. Both Phrygisians cringed in horror. Even though Rundas had quickly overcame his reluctance to kill, he still wasn't used to Humans' habit to eat meat. And Takan was a newbie, who hadn't even imagined that other beings could be eaten until a few months ago.

"_How can she..." _Takan started to say in Phrygisian, but Rundas cut him off in english:

"If you're to accompany us, then speak english. We left that part of our lives with Phrygisia."

"Fair enough," Takan shrugged and lied down, his arms ducked under his head. He yawned loudly: "Well, I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow is a very long day." He immediately started snoring, making Samus smirk.

"So, what do you think?" She turned to look at Rundas. "Can we trust him?"

He nodded. "He looks clean to me." He hesitated. "Sorry I took so long to intervene earlier. I mean..."

"Nah, it's okay," she chewed on the meat, then continued. "The mission comes first, remember? And you saved my as half-a-dozen of times. No need to do it again."

He stared at her. "If the mission comes first," he said slowly, "Why did you waste your time helping me on Bryyo Fire?"

Samus's mouth suddenly went dry. She should have known the 'I owe you one' answer wouldn't be enough for him. And it wasn't enough for her either.

Then why?

Why did she save him?

She decided to change of subjects. "Who is Tar'umi?"

Rundas's face turned completely white, and he looked away. "Someone who died. Years ago." Then he looked back at her defiantly: "Who is that 'Adam' _you_ mentioned while you were sleeping?"

She stared back at him: "A friend. Dead, too." She sighed. "Looks like we both have a heavy past."

"Yep," Rundas mouth curved in a bitter smile. "Let's make a deal, shall we? I tell you a bit of what happened to me, then you tell me what happened to you."

She smiled weakly. "Seems fair." She sighed and pressed her back against the wall. "So? Who starts?"

He chuckled. "I hope you like long stories."

"I do. Go on, then."

Rundas took a deep breath, and for the first time in his long life, he started talking about his past.

(***)

What do you know about Phrygisia?

The basics, of course. It's a frozen moon of Bes III, known for its isolation and the ice mining. This ice is the best in the Universe, and sold to different governments throughout the galaxy for many uses, including scientific, machinery, or merely entertainment.

What else? Nothing. No one knows much about this planet, or its inhabitants. Still, there is so much more...

Years ago, there was a great war on Phrygisia. The planet had become so crowded that many Phrygisina decided to kill their neighbours, so that their families could expand without any problem. Gradually, it became a massacre. More then ninety percent of the Phrygisian population died. Parents, children, siblings, friends... It was a bloodbath. After ten human years of terrible war, the few survivors made a truce: they would each take their families and friends and each live in different cities, isolated from one another, so that there would never be any contact or new feud between them. Thus, the Clans were born.

Over the centuries, a new cult was born in every Clan. The Armarrik followed Ezzaya, the Goddess of mining. The Auraja followed Kista and Surim, the Gods of Light and Darkness. The Yranna Clan followed Erayo, the God of Passion.

Finally, the Pherrayi Clan, where I was born, followed Kuchatra, the God of Power, and the greatest of all gods.

Clans each have a leader, and the leader's position is always passed on from parent to child. There is no discrimination between genders. Fathers can pass their position to their daughters, or mothers to their son. But to become the Heir of the Clan, there is one condition. Your ice wielding powers must be the strongest in the Clan.

That's where I came in.

Actually, no.

That's where me and Gyrrio came in.

Gyrrio was my twin brother. The birth of twins is a very rare but benefic event. It is said that twins share a soul. I believe that is true: I was everything Gyrrio wasn't, and he had everything I didn't have. I was arrogant, outgoing, brave and with prematurely strong ice powers. Gyrrio was quiet, humble, and his powers weren't very big, but he was also much more patient and intelligent than I was. He used to create endless little mechanisms to make Phrygisian's lives easier. Despite his lack of power, he was just as adored as I was when we were children. We always stayed together, exploring around the city and sometimes, even outside. If ever he was bullied, I would stand up for him and fight whoever hurt him. If I was teased, he would come up with a snappy remark that would shut our opponent's mouth very quick. Even as we grew up, we remained very close, and even today, I sometimes dream of him and what he is doing today.

We had four other siblings. Our eldest was Rennae, but she died in childbirth when we were eight. Me and Gyrrio grieved over her a lot, though we knew childbirth is a very painful and hard experience for Phrygisian women. But her death was a blow to us, since she cared for us almost as much as our mother did when we were children. Jyraia was two years older than us, and I was very humble compared to him. He was always boasting _he_ would be head of the Clan one day, though my powers were stronger than his. He constantly bullied us, especially Gyrrio, who didn't have a lot of power. I often fought with him and won, depite the fact I was younger than he was. This infuriated him, and made him bully Gyrrio even more. Eventually, I pretended to lose, so that he would leave my brother alone.

After us came Ker'ya. She was four years younger than we were, and we sometimes took her with us to explore. She was curious about everything and her powers were average. Later, she became a devout Priestess to Kuchatra, and we rarely saw her after that. Priests and Priestesses are supposed to cut all bonds with their family after their initiation. Finally came Chaia. He was eight years our junior, and followed me and Gyrrio everywhere we went. He idolized both of us so much that when I was exiled, he tried to commit suicide and threw himself off the wall of the city. I never saw him since.

The six of us were considered to be the future of the city. Despite his low powers, Gyrrio was loved and respected in the Clan. Our father made it clear he wanted me as his heir, and prepared me very early to a Leader's life. He also decided to make Gyrrio my advisor for later, so we could rule together when he died. I was happy, content, and couldn't imagine a better life or future.

That is, until they came.

"_Tar'umi!" Gyrrio called. "We shouldn't be here!" _

_His brother grinned back at him. "Look at this, Gyrrio!" he gestured to the crumbled walls around them. "Isn't this cool? It looks like ruins of the Old Age!"_

"_But Tar'umi!" Gyrrio trailed after his brother. "Father told us there were Reyvans in the Ruins!"_

"_Aw, come on Gyrrio," Tar'umi called back, laughing and running across the frozen floor. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat..."_

_The child looked fearfully around them, then at the ceiling, covered in cracks. "It's not very strong anymore," Gyrrio said. "It could collapse anytime now. The weight of the ice is too much for it."_

_Tar'umi's eyes twinkled maliciously. "What if we brought it down ourselves?"_

_Gyrrio sighed, as though he was an adult confronted with a very naughty child. "And kill ourselves in the procedure? Stop that!" he yelled as Tar'umi started poking one of the pillars. "What you're doing is dangerous!"_

_Tar'umi rolled his eyes: "You're no fun, Brother. I swear you sound more and more like Mother each day..." Suddenly, the room started shaking. More cracks appeared in the ceiling and pieces of ice started rolling down. _

_Gyrrio looked at the pillars and briefly wondered if they could stand the shock. When one of them broke, he decided he'd rather not know. "Run!" he yelled at Tar'umi. Both brothers shot towards the exit, the ceiling collapsing behind them and deversing heavy blocks of ice. Gyrrio tripped once or twice, but Tar'umi quickly helped him to his feet and they desperately made a run for it. Finaly, they arrived in the light of day and managed to get past the ice doors without damage. For a moment, both were at their knees, catching their breaths. _

_Then Tar'umi asked: "What in the name of Kuchatra happened?"_

"_Earthquake?" Gyrrio grimaced, then froze. "...Or a ship landing."_

"_The Federation?" yelled Tar'umi. "But they were supposed to fetch the ice next month..."_

"_Then it's someone else." Gyrrio's eyes widened in fear. "Bounty Hunters."_

_Tar'umi started to laugh: "What? You actually believe in these? They're bedtime stories, Gyrrio! Something parents use to frighten their kids in submission! Like 'Don't come home too late or the Bounty Hunters will come and kill you for money'!"_

"_And that," a new, deep voice from behind them said, "is exactly why we are here."_

_Both brothers froze and turned around slowly. Behind them was a tall, slim figure, with four arms and eight huge crimson eyes, grinning madly. "Eivlys!" it called. "I found two Phrygisian kids!"_

_Another figure appeared from behind a wall. She was small, but curvy, almost beautiful. She had strange purple fur growing on her head, and descending all the way to her waist. Her two eyes were large and completely white, unlike her skin, which was light blue. Two long swords were attached to her back and her body was covered by some tight red material. "I hope you didn't scare them, Rikacha," she said in Phrygisian. "We need them to find the city." She turned towards the twins, who had frozen in fear. "We won't hurt you. We simply need to speak to your Leader."_

_Tar'umi stared back at her: "Who are you?" he said, trying to prevent his voice from trembling. _

_The woman smiled: "I'm a friend. Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Just tell me, where is your city? I wish to speak to your Leader."_

_The boys exchanged a panicked glance. Then Tar'umi said in what he hoped to be a commanding tone: "If you wish to speak to Father, then you shall leave your weapons here. And _he,_" he pointed at Rikacha, who looked as though he was itching for a good fight, "doesn't come. I don't trust him." He then looked at the woman right in the eyes, something his father had said to be a powerful move. "What is your name, by the way, stranger?"_

_The woman raised an eyebrow, but then relaxed and smiled. "You are a brave one, hatchling. I thought you would run away, but instead you actually start to give conditions to me." She laughed and patted his shoulder. "I like that. You'd make a good Hunter."_

_Tar'umi's heart skipped a beat. Was she actually suggesting that he could become a Bounty Hunter later? One of these fearful beings that, according to legends, had exterminated some species for money? But then, she didn't look very bad. She was actually very nice. And there was something in her that attracted him terribly. What was it?_

_Power._

_Incredible, raw power. It just emanated from her like a halo of golden light._

_And he liked it._

_She smiled again, this time completely, and Tar'umi felt his stomach flip over. All his life, he had thought he had known what was beautiful or not. Something frozen was beautiful. Something hot wasn't. Ice was beautiful. Lava was not. Young Phrygisian women were beautiful. Old Phrygisian men were not._

_Now, this woman made him feel as though all the things he had thought were beautiful were ugly and distorted in comparaison to her._

_And she hadn't failed to notice that._

"_I am Eivlys Elliaissal, from Sircey II," she finally said. "So, brave child, what is your name?"_

_Gyrrio frowned and opened his mouth to tell her it was none of her business when Tar'umi answered, completely mesmerized:_

"_It's Tar'umi. Tar'umi of the Pherrayi."_

(***)

For what seemed like a long time, stayed silent, as though absorbing all these new informations. What had she learned?

Rundas wasn't really Rundas.

His real name was Tar'umi.

And, gods of the Chozos, he was a kind of prince.

Then other things from his tale came: he had a twin brother, many siblings, and he used to think that Bounty Hunters were monsters. Then he had met the Sirceyan, and slowly, he had started to change. Completely.

She wanted to know more, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him. Why was he exiled? What had happened to the Hunters he had met? And why...

"There's more," he said quietly, interrupting her thoughts. "But I'll continue that another time. We need to sleep." She opened her mouth to protest, but then he continued: "I'll take the first watch. You can take my place in a couple of hours."

She breathed in deeply, then said: "Tar'umi..."

"It's Rundas," he cut her off sharply. "Tar'umi is dead now: Rundas took his place."

She looked at him, and he felt his heart sinking. So many emotions on her face... Concern was definitely there now, but there also was compassion, understandment... And affection? Why?

"I..." she seemed to want to say something, but then closed her mouth and mutterred a 'good night' before lying on the day grass and closing her eyes. As the minutes passed and changed into hours, Rundas stared at her uncovered face, studying every trait of it and committing it to memory, noting her changes of expressions as she dreamed and mumbled in her sleep.

He had never told anybody about his past. Nobody, except her.

Why was that? Why did he tell that to a Human, a rival, a fellow Hunter? A friend?

As she woke up a few hours later and exchanged roles with him with a small smile on her face, he decided that it didn't matter.

Samus was just... Samus.

That was probably why he loved her.

He loved her. He had just realized that, but the truth sank into his heart as he fell asleep, a smile on his face. He loved her.

Deeply.

(***)

The Seed looked heavily protected.

What seemed like hundreds of Pirates were patrolling around it, protecting every entrance. Normal Pirates, but also Elites, some Phazon-infused, some with Korraks and others with Berserker Knights and Lords. There were also many ships and cannons all around, along with fuel gel explosives and anti-aircraft missiles. It was as though the entire Pirate army had come to protect the Leviathan

It would be impossible for any normal person to go through this. Hell, even a small army couldn't. Let alone three lonely Hunters.

"Is that all?" Samus raised her eyebrows. "I thought there would be more than that. It's gonna be a piece of cake."

Rundas rolled his eyes. Samus was definitely_ not_ normal. "What's the plan, oh Great and Superiour Being?" he said. From the way he said it, the others knew there were capital letters. And sarcasm.

"Well, if your mighty brain can stand taking orders, here they are: You cover me while I creep inside and kill the Leviathan."

"Ugh, I hate Phazon," Rundas shook his head, then turned to Takan who was looking at them, puzzled by their exchange. "I guess you're stuck with me, mate. We're gonna kick those Pirates' asses."

"Do we have to?" the boy said, looking a bit afraid.

"Uh, let me think about that. Yes. Definitely, yes."

Takan sighed. "Such violence..."

"You should have known what you were getting yourself into when you decided to become like me," Rundas said drily. Ice started to form around him. He looked at Samus. "When I start attacking, you run inside. Got it?" She nodded. "Samus?" he said, his voice suddenly fearful. "Be careful, okay? I'd really regret it if you died."

She stared at him, but then he saw the hint of a smile behind the helmet. "I will," she promised, then charged her beam. "You too, take care of yourself."

He smiled back, and shot back the urge to hug her tightly. "Here it comes!" he yelled, and shot ice at one of the closest Pirates. It gagged, then doubled over and stayed still. Suddenly, hundreds of eyes were staring at them, as though not believing their luck.

Then one of them shrieked something, and all the others started to attack.

None of them would survive.

(***)

Ridley put a hand to his scar and grimaced. Though his powers had grown considerably stronger, it still hurt terribly. But it was the price to pay for a higher position. As Dark Samus had promised, he was now her advisor and included in the most secret plans. He hadn't thought he'd actually be of some use, but his personnel vendetta with Aran was a good source of information on her. That, and the work he had done on Zebes and Tallon IV.

He had also becomed a kind of bodyguard for Dark Samus, her eyes and ears on the Homeworld. Whenever she linked telepathically with the Corrupted Hunters, her physical body was very vulnerable, so he tried to protect it as much as he could. He was surprised by the number of people who wished to kill her, but dispatched them without other thought. They were fools, and traitors who only deserved to die.

Right now, he was watching her as she took a Phazon bath. It was embarassing for him, but someone _had _to be sure nothing bad would happen to her. Underneath the black armour, Her body was muscled, but lean and her curves absolutely hypnotising. She emerged from the bath, the dark blue liquid clinging to her lighter skin, and her shin-length black hair flattened by the Phazon. She glanced at him with bright red eyes and as he gulped, a smile curled her mouth upwards. "There's nothing to be ashamed of," she said and stepped out of the pool, taking a piece of cloth and wiping her body with it. "Bathing is natural."

"Forgive me," he replied a little drily, "But you can't expect me to see you naked and not react."

She laughed a high, cruel laugh, but abruptly stopped and stared at somewhere he couldn't see. "It's Aran," she hissed. "She's at the Seed."

"What?" Ridley's eyes widened. "Do you need to go now?"

"Yes," she said and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply. "Rundas is there. I could control him if he got close enough..."

"So we have a chance to kill her?"

"Yes," she flinched. "The battle just started. Get me to my room. I need my full concentration on this."

He obeyed and lifted her gently. As he started towards her room, her eyes rollled upwards and she slumped in his arms, curling up close to him. Half-aroused by the touch, half-worried about her, he put her on her hard bed and looked at her peaceful face.

_What is happening to me?_

**AN:**** I'm sleepy -_- It's 11 p.m here and I got church tomorrow. But at least I finished this chapter! I hope you liked it! See ya next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: Mistakes

**AN:** **Hi again =D Thank you for all the faves and suscribes! I'm happy to see people are enjoying my fanfiction. Yet, I don't have much reviews... Please just take a minute, even if you don't like it, to tell me what you think of my story and the way I made the characters. I don't want them to be too OOC...**

**Song for this chapter is "Winterhearted" by Xandria.**

Chapter 8: Mistakes

**(Extract of the introduction of "Samus Aran: The woman behind the Legend", by Clark McCarthy)**

**(...) Who hasn't heard of Samus Aran? The legendary Bounty Hunter who destroyed Zebes, main base of the Space Pirates and their legendary leader: Mother Brain. The hero who eradicated Phazon and the terrible threat of the Metroids. The warrior who brought peace to planets like Tallon IV, Aether, and the rest of the galaxy. Writers wrote long essays about her, film directors created many movies, historians have studied every single event in which she was involved, from K2-L to the darker times of Phaaze. **

**Yet in all of these, none of them have thought about her personality, her dark past or even the fact that despite everyhing, she was still human and had human emotions. She had a family, friends, she knew how to love, and how to hate with equal passion. She came to care for some people, to love them and protect them until the end.**

**Of all those people, the one who had the greatest impact on her life and actions was probably her fellow Hunter and friend, Rundas of Phrygis.**

**A friend, who grew to be much more than a simple friend...**

(***)

_This is getting ridiculous,_ Dark Samus thought as she flew over the battlefield. Though she was invulnerable in this form, it would take just one blow to her normal body to kill her. Now, as she watched the two Phrygisian Hunters decimate the best of her troops, she felt like having an ennemy stab her right now. It would spear her the humiliation. _Two Hunters against at lest ten thousand Pirates, Elites, and Berserker Lords, along with all the equipments, and the Hunters don't even get a scratch? Oh, gods, please kill me now. Why do I even work with those idiots? I should have invaded the Kriken instead. At least, _they_ know how to fight._

Dark Samus was an uncharitable person when in a bad mood.

She looked at Rundas, whose ice froze and impaled at least twenty Pirates a second. She needed to get him to their side, and now. The other wasn't a problem for her. She smirked. _If only Aran knew..._ she thought. She shot to the Pirate leader and slipped into his mind, taking control. As she heard him panic, she simply gave her identity: _Peace. It is I. I will be taking the commands from now on. _The Pirate calmed down immediately and relinquished his body's reigns to her. She opened her new eyes, looking across the battlefield with the Pirate's thermal vision. In the middle of the red, hot shapes of the Pirates, she saw two bulky ice-coloured forms fighting against them. Rundas was clearly stronger than the other, who had probably survived out of sheer luck.

She smirked and bellowed, making all the Pirates look at her. Some realized who she was by the Phazon pouring out of the Pirate's body and the change in her voice, and protrated themselves. "_Fools!"_ she yelled. _"Throw a Phazon bomb at them! They will come to our side!"_ Already one or two Pirates were searching around for one of the blue balls. Finally, a regular brandished a small bomb with a crow of triumph. _I will have them promote him,_ she thought. _He's less stupid than most of the others, allright._ As he bowed and handed her the bomb, she drew back the Pïrate's arm and prepared to evacuate his body. She'd have control of Rundas soon enough.

Then, throwing the ball at Rundas with all her might, Dark Samus quickly left the Leader's body, who staggered and fell to the ground, and raced across the battlefield to her prize.

(***)

_How many has it been?_ Rundas thought as he froze a full line of Pirates and made them explode. _Seventy? Eighty? And Kuchatra, what is this guy _doing _here?_ He glanced back at Takan, who obviously had problems fighting. He sighed. Kids. Thought they were invincible until the day came they landed in a battlefield. _I hope Samus is okay, _he thought for what felt the 100th time since he had seen her slip through the Pirate troops and disappear into the Seed. He felt like shaking his head. _Why did I fall in love with her, of all people? I am _so_ stupid._

Then, he heard a sharp hiss and turned his head. A blueish kind of ball was flying right at him. It reminded him of something...

Then his eyes widened as he realized it was the same kind of ball that had made him Corrupted.

He swore heavily, trying to get out of there, but the Pirates had realized what was going on and were now clinging to him, making him unable to move. He kicked and thrashed, but then the ball landed on his chest, soaking his armour with Phazon and splashing his skin. "No!" he yelled when thick Phazon tentacles started to grow on him, infiltrating his inside. His vision turned grey, except for the Phazon which was still a vivid blue. As he struggled to move, he felt his control starting to slip to someone else. Samus? No not Samus.

Dark Samus.

He roared in pain and pressed his head between his hands, as though trying to squeeze her out of there. "_Give up_," a high, cruel voice said in his mind. She sounded like Samus, and at the same time she didn't... "_Give up! You can't do a thing! You are _mine." He gagged in disgust, as though then simple idea made him want to throw up. "_Give over your will to me, Rundas!"_ She was now probbing his memories, searching for something to make him give up. He tried to mask them, but soon, images flashed through his mind...

He was five, and trying to stop Jyraia from hitting Gyrrio again... He was eight, shaking with sobs as his sister's body was dropped into the fire pit... Eivlys was patting his shoulder, telling him he'd make a good hunter... He was kissing Lygerria and she was kissing her back, his hands threading over her body...

"Stop it!" he yelled. But the memories continued...

He was assisting to his stillborn's child burial, trying to support the sobbing Lygerria next to him... He was accepting to help the Hunters, if, in return, they'd take him with them and make a Bounty Hunter out of him... The awful look of betrayal in his family's face as he turned against them, allowing the others to escape... The first years as a hunter, finally finding his true place... Eivlys's lifeless eyes and the sky reflected in them... Samus's soft lips against his own, his arms around her delicate form, and the thought that he loved her—

"Enough!"

She was laughing, laughing as though what she saw was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen. The scene passed in his head, again and again. "_I can't believe it!_" she cackled. "_Of all people, you fell in love with Samus Aran? _And_ there's a possibility she loves you too! Oh, this is too good."_ Her laughing faded, but the terrible sense of being stripped bare was still there. "_How about this?"_ she said. _"If you don't stop..."_ an image of Samus, her eyes as lifeless as Eivlys's and her body covered in blood, flashed into Rundas's mind. "_You wouldn't want your sweetheart to die, wouldn't you?"_

"Shut the hell up!" he yelled. Yet she continued, sending tantalizing images of Samus in his brain. Samus dead... Samus screaming in pain as she was being tortured... Samus being throttled by Ridley.... "_You could spear her that. Just let me take control, and I promise, no, I swear that her death will be quick and painless."_

"Liar," he said through clenched teeth. The pain doubled as she infiltrated his mind even more. It would take just a little more for her to control him... Then his body started to feel numb, and he felt as though he was drifting to sleep. "_Don't worry, you won't even see her die. You will become my ally, my greatest general in this war. You shall be rewarded for your faithfulness..."_

"I don't fucking _care_!" he tried to resist her grip. "Leave me—" At that moment, he lost control. It was as though his soul had been pushed into another room in his mind: he could see, hear and feel what she was seeing, hearing, and feeling, but he couldn't move anything. He sensed triumph from Dark Samus as she smirked with his mouth and stretched his limbs. "At last," she said, only that his voice was strangely distorted when she said it. Then she looked at the Pirates and yelled something in their strange language: the Pirates cheered and bowed to him... to _her_.

"Rundas, no!" She snapped his head to the side, looking at Takan being held down with a strange mixture of amusement and contempt. Rundas watched helplessly as she took hold of him, and threw him on the side. His head hit the back of a rock, then he fell and did not stir. _She killed him, _he thought, fear washing through him. _No, she made _me_ kill him. _Then the boy moaned and rolled on his back. He was alive, but barely. Some Pirates moved towards them to finish their dirty work, when Dark Samus spoke other words in their language. They reluctantly moved aside. _What—_ he thought before he felt his body move. She was moving them inside the Seed. Why...

_Samus! She's gonna kill her!_ A wave of horror swept over him. _I can't let that happen! I won't let that bitch kill her!_ He desperately tried to regain control, but it was too late. She had embedded herself into him now. Only Samus could snap him out of this. He groaned internely.

_If Dark Samus doesn't kill me, then Samus will. She is going to be _furious.

(***)

Samus groaned as she threw up again. Gomera had been a nasty piece of work, but the worst part had been his death. She knew she was even more Corrupted now, the Phazon in her having almost doubled in size. As she got to her feet, pain suddenly shot through her shoulder. _Not again,_ she thought. She didn't know how hurt she was, but she'd find out when she'd get out of there. The Leviathan was shaking and starting to collapse. _I guess I should get out of here now,_ she thought and turned towards the exit. She frowned as she saw a strong figure in the tunnel.

"Rundas!" she called. "What are you doing here?"

He seemed to struggle with his thoughts for a moment, then looked at her: "Oh. Hey, Samus. I'm glad you're good—"

"Where's Takan?" she interrupted. Once again, he seemed to hesitate.

"Outside. The rest of the army fleed once we killed the leader. After that, I thought I should lend you a hand..."

She rose an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Fine," she said. "Let's go. I've had enough of this place."

"All right," he said obediently.

As she moved into the tunnel, Rundas trailed behind her. She frowned. Something was wrong, but she couldn't see what it was. What was it that was so strange...

And then it just clicked into place.

Samus plunged to the side, and the ice hit the place she had stood just seconds before. As she pointed her cannon at Rundas, he looked at her strangely. Then he threw his head backwards and laughed.

It wasn't his laugh. It wasn't that deep, carefree laugh she had heard only a few time, but that had committed itself to memory. It was a high, cruel cackle that made her skin crawl with horror. "What do you think you're doing, sister?" he said in an oddly distorted voice.

Samus's heart skipped a beat. "You."

"Yes. I!" Dark Samus laughed again. "You didn't think Rundas would give in again, didn't you? Well, it took a long time for me to take control of him anyway. So powerful, isn't he, sister?"

"Do _not_ call me 'sister'! You monster!"

The Dark Hunter bobbed her head to the side, watching her in an almost curious way. "Maybe I am a monster," she said, smirking with Rundas's mouth. "But tell me, sister, are we really different?"

"What are you talking about?"

Dark Samus continued to smirk at her and changed the subject: "How did you know it was me anyway?"

"Rundas is much too proud to obey my orders like that," she said. "either he would have refused, or he would have replied sarcastically."

"I see," the woman paused. "Well then, I guess—"

She didn't have the opportunity to finish, as Samus's foot connected with Rundas's chest. She pushed her clone to the floor, and charged her beam. "Do it, Samus!" the Dark Hunter laughed. "Kill Rundas by trying to kill me! It won't affect me one bit!" As Samus hesitated, Dark Samus threw her backwards and thrust her against the wall. Rundas's strong claws clasped the helmet and threw it aside, before clasping her throat tightly. "Don't worry, you won't die now," she whispered in triumph. "I want you executed in front of the Pirates. I want you to be humiliated. Tortured. For now I'll simply—" She didn't finish, as Samus banged her head against hers as hard as possible. A yell of pain escaped Dark Samus and she staggered backwards. Samus immediately jumped to the side, blood trickling down her forehead. Her head hurt, but she'd deal with that later.

The Hunter raised her gun and fired a dozen of missiles, which Dark Samus all evaded easily. She created spires of ice, forcing Samus to slide to the back of the tunnel. "Is that all you've got?" she yelled. "Is that all the great Samus Aran can do?" Samus responded by getting into Hypermode and shooting pure Phazon at her. The other woman grunted, then retaliated by sending blocks of ice at her.

_Think, think!_ Samus thought as she dodged them. _What broke him out of it last time?_ The image of Rundas's wound to the head came back to her. That's it! But it would be terribly risky. _If I don't do it, he'll die anyway,_ she thought. _I have to take that risk._ Suddenly, the thought of Rundas dying seemed unbearable to her. She swore to herself that she'd take him through this. Then, after he'd be okay again, she would punch him. Hard. And insult him a lot too. She jumped back in the shadwos, trying not to move.

As the ice and dust settled, she moved quietly behind Rundas/Dark Samus. "Is that all?" her rival shouted._. _All of a sudden, a pillar of ice collapsed next to her, then an another. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Dark Samus laughed again. "Come litttle moth, into my web!" Samus shivered. _Gods, I hate her,_ she thought. As the other woman moved to the other side, Samus saw her exposed back. _It's now or never,_ she thought. Taking a a deep breath, she launched herself at Rundas/Dark Samus. She made a small noise of shock as Samus collided with her, then of pain as she felt the metal of Samus's armour cutting in her skin. "stop it!" she yelled.

Yet Samus clinged to her, and promptly shot a missile at the wound.

As Rundas/Dark Samus roared in pain, Samus was thrown back against the wall. She felt something crack. _Shit, I hope that wasn't anything important._ She looked back at Rundas, who was shaking uncontrolably, then saw a dark shadow detach itself from her friend's body. As it freed him, he fell to the ground with a grunt and moved no more. The shadow seemed to shriek with pain, then dissolved itself into nothingness.

The sudden silence lasted a few minutes, until Samus got to her feet. She winced and looked at her leg, which was bent in an unnatural way._ That's going to hurt, eventually._ She limped to Rundas's moveless form, then collapsed next to him. As she checked his pulse, her heart skipped a beat as she realized there wasn't any. No breathing either. Chocking back a cry of shock, she slapped him. "Wake up!" He didn't stir. Dane's words raced through her thoughts. _If ever one of you is hurt again, leave him behind... _She tried to move away, but found she couldn't. _The mission. I have to finish the mission..._ yet she couldn't tear herself away from Rundas. "Oh, damn him," she muttered and tore his armour open. She tried to avoid to look at the three scars, and pushed on his heart. She felt panic arise in her as his heart didn't start up. She looked at his face, then leaned close to it.

"Come on, man," she whispered as she pressed her mouth to his.

He gasped and shot up, pushing her to the side. As he gasped for breath, his eyes wandered around the room, as though checking his surroudings. "You're okay?" Samus asked and grimaced at the pain coursing through her body. He nodded once, then looked at her:

"Did you actually kiss me?"

She felt like punching him. "No, you idiot, you went into cardiac arrest! I had to revive you, save my pride and modesty. It's called CPR!"

"So you saved me?" he asked with a kind of wonder. "Thanks a— Whoa." His eyes went to her blood-covered armour and her twisted leg. "Doesn't that hurt?"

She bit her lip and nodded: "It doesn't matter. We need to go now, or the Pirates will grow suspicious."

"Alright, alright," he said, then stood up. "Are you sure you can fight in that state?"

She shrugged, and got up, trying and failing to prevent a wince of pain. "I'm fine, let's go. This place creeps me out."

(***)

Ridley jumped as he heard a shriek of pain from Dark Samus's room. He quickly ran there, afraid something terrible had happened. She was shaking uncontrolably, spasms running through her body and her eyes rolling upwards.

"Leader!" he yelled and pinned her down with his tail. He reached towards a cup of Phazon, then splashed it over her face. Immediately, the spasms stopped and she slumped on her bed. "Leader?" he called in an uncertain voice. "Are you allright?"

She moaned, and opened her eyes. "Ridley? Is that you?"

"Yes, Dark Hunter," he replied deferencially. "Are you allright?"

She shot up and glanced around, as though searching for something to kill. "That _bitch_," she muttered. "She managed to make me lose control of Rundas again."

"What?" Ridley's eyes widened. "So she..."

"Yes," Dark Samus fell back on the bed and closed her eyes. She sighed: "She knows how to sever the connection between my shadow and its host. This is terrible news. That means she knows how to save Ghor and Gandrayda too."

"What will you do?" Ridley asked.

Suddenly, a smirk spread on her face. "When I probbed Rundas's memories, I found something very interesting. Something we could use to our advantage."

"What is it?"

"Apparently, Rundas has recently developped very strong feelings towards Aran. And there may be a possibility that she feels the same way as he does."

"I don't understand..."

"Rundas is in love with Samus."

Ridley waited for her to laugh and admit it was a joke, yet her face remained serious. "You're kidding me," he muttered, unable to prevent the look of utter astonishment crossing his face. "He _loves_ her? And she probably does, too?"

Dark Samus laughed. "One of his memories was very eloquent. No wonder she didn't see our Raiding Vessel when it approached her ship. They were both _very_ busy when it happened."

Ridley tried to picture the scene and failed. In his mind, Samus was a fierce enemy who had to be killed and always interfered with his plans, not a person who had feelings, let alone who could fall in love with a Phrygisian. Trying to imagine her doing that was like imagining Dark Samus as a sweet, innocent little girl who abhorred violence. It just wasn't right.

"What will we do?" he asked.

Dark Samus frowned and crossed her legs. "I guess we have to go to Plan B." She said.

"Do we have to?" Ridley asked, obviously unhappy with the suggestion.

"Yes. We do, though I don't like it. It's not reliable to me, but we don't have a choice. Call our friend and tell him he can act." She moved up and looked at Ridley. "I'm going to adress our troops. They need to know that they have the authorisation to terminate Rundas now." She looked down at herself. "But first, I need to put some clothes on."

For the first time since he was a hatchling, Ridley blushed.

(***)

The Pirates had been a piece of cake.

They had expected Dark Samus to come out carrying the Hunter's bloodied corpse, not the fully conscious Rundas freezing them all and the Hunter limping by his side, but still doing a lot of damage. Soon enough, the survivors were running away as fast as they could from the two Hunters.

Samus rested her back against a wall and wiped the sweat off her brow. Her leg really hurt now, along with other parts of her body. It was a wonder she wasn't dead. She decided that when all of this was over, she would go to Tallon IV and take a little vacation. She probably had the right to do that now.

Rundas ran to Takan, who was still unconscious, and called to Samus: "He's alive! What should I do?"

Samus limped to them, kneeled beside Takan, then slapped the boy in the face.

"Ow!" he said and woke up with a start. "What the hell did I do?"

"Wakey-wakey," Samus muttered.

Takan looked at her leg and said: "Ouch. That must hurt a lot..."

"It does, but it's about to get better," she said, then turned around and punched Rundas. He fell to the ground, holding his face. "_That_ was for being an idiot and getting yourself Corrupted again!" she yelled. "Do you have any _idea_ of what I went through to save you?"

"Samus—" he started.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, just _shut up_. I'm in a very bad mood now. I almost saw you _die!_ Do you know what it's like to see a friend of yours dying? DO YOU?" She paused to catch her breath. "You almost made me kill you over again, you moron. Why? Because you got Corrupted again and because you decided to do the heroics! I told you not to go near Phazon! I told you to be careful! But you didn't! And now..." she trailed off. Her face was twisted in fury, yet he could see the glitter of tears in her eyes. "I almost killed you," she whispered. "I don't want to kill another friend. I don't want to lose someone else."

A long and painful silence followed her speech, as Takan looked at her in a sort of wonder and Rundas stared back at Samus. "Let's go," she finally said and turned around. Takan glanced back at Rundas, then jumped to his feet and followed her. Rundas saw him pat her shoulder, and to his surprise, she let him. A strange mixture of anger and envy shot through Rundas as he saw them walk away. He stood up, the place where she had punched him still burning, then followed them silently.

(***)

They walked for hours in the darkness.

Samus was in obvious pain, but the second Rundas opened his mouth to propose he'd carry her or even help her, she shot him such a glare that words died in his throat. Yet even in the shadows, he could hear her laboured breathing and her small noises of pain as her leg hit a rock. He was angry and bitter towards her for her hurtful words, yet he was still concerned about her health. He couldn't bear to see her in such pain.

_I don't want to kill another friend_... Her words had surprised him. Did that mean she had to kill a friend of hers years ago? He almost felt bad for making her go through the same ordeal, but he still thought she had been unfair in her judgement. It wasn't his fault if he had been Corrupted. He hadn't been near the Phazon, but it was someone who threw it at _him._ Now she wasn't speaking to him any more, just because he had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. How fair was _that_?

Seeing Takan comfort her that way had also been a stab in his pride. She had never accepted his comfort, except when he insisted on it so much she had to let him help her. But Takan... She barely knew him, yet she hadn't reacted when he laid a hand a hand on her shoulder, almost like a caress. In fact, she had even seemed to _like _the comfort, but only from _him_. _Am I being jealous?_ He thought. _She has the right to be comforted by other people than me_.

Yet that thought still brought him a lot of pain.

After what seemed like an eternity, Samus finally stopped and rested on the wall. She had taken off her helmet, and he could see the pale tinge of her skin, glistening with sweat. _How much blood has she lost?_ He thought. "Samus," he started. "We should—"

"I'm fine," she cut him off. Yet as she tried to stand up again, her legs shaked and she collapsed on the floor.

"Samus!" both Takan and Rundas cried out. They rushed to her side, as she blinked her eyes, clouded with fever. "I'm... Fine..." she whispered again, then passed out.

Takan seemed to panic: "She's dead! Samus is dead! We're doomed—"

Rundas punched him.

Takan moaned a put a hand to his head, then looked at Rundas: "_What was that for?_" He yelled in Phrygisian.

"Stop being an idiot and help me," Rundas commanded. He gathered Samus's body in his arms, then carried her to another spot in the cave, where a soft vegetation covered the hard stone. He loosened her armour easily enough to his relief, and freed her body from the cold metal. He poked her body. "A bruise here..." he muttered. "Two, no... three broken ribs..." his hands travelled down her small form, searching for injuries. "Her shoulder wound opened again, though it was half-healed already." He looked at her dangled leg and grimaced as he saw the white of bones amongst the blue and red of her suit and flesh. "Shit," he swore. "An open fracture. That means we're going to have to put the bone back into place again."

Takan turned green as he saw the bone. "Sorry," he said and ran away in the tunnel. Rundas heard him throw up and almost felt like rolling his eyes.

"He's not very good with blood, isn't he?" Samus said in an small voice.

He turned abruptly to her: "Since when are you awake?"

"Just now," she grimaced as she looked at her leg. "Ugh. Disgusting. Now how am I gonna walk?"

"We're staying here, for the moment," Rundas said, matter-of-factly. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off: "You can't walk, Samus. You lost a lot of blood and you got a few broken bones. So I understand why you're angry with me, but I won't let that anger cost you your life. We are staying here until you'll well enough, whether you like it or not." She glared at him, but didn't say anything. "All right," he said. "Careful, I'm going to freeze the wounds." As he let the ice cover the ugly gashes, she sighed deeply, as though it was a relief for her. Then he tore some of the moss away from the rock, making a make-shift bandage around her leg and shoulder.

Takan came back at that moment, looked once at the wounds, then ran away again.

Samus rolled her eyes: "How lovely. My wounds are horrible, but Takan is acting as though I were a corpse rotting in the sun."

Rundas chuckled, still covering her wounds with ice, all except for the one on her leg. "How well do you heal?" he asked Samus, eyeing the bone.

"The Chozo blood in me makes my wounds heal quicker than most humans," she replied drily.

"What about bones? Do they heal quickly after resetting them into place?"

Her eyes widened as she realized what he intended to do. "I don't know. I don't usually break my bones to see how fast they regenerate," she said sarcastically. "But I guess I'm about to find out. Am I right?"

"Very. This is going to hurt," he warned.

She rolled her eyes: "I'm used to pain already. Just pin me down."

"Takan!" Rundas called. The boy came back, his face greenish as he stared at her leg. "Yeah, I know, it's disgusting, but will you please stop acting as though it's the first wound you've seen in your life! It's horrible enough already, and you're just making it worse."

"Okay," Takan was slightly shaking, Samus noted, as though _he_ was the one whose bone was sticking out of his flesh. The boy moved next to her, then took hold of her gently. "Do you need anything, Samus?" he asked.

"Apart from a lot of courage and some bandages, and crap, some barbecue chips, I don't need anything. Ah, I forgot," she gestured to something in her armour. "There's a bottle of Celestian Alcohol in there. Just in case. Give it to me." The boy obeyed and she popped off the plug from the bottle, then gulped down several mouthfuls of the strong liquid. She tossed the bottle aside, her eyes set in determination. "Okay. Do this, Rundas."

Rundas looked at the bone hesitantly, then at Samus, whose eyes were closed and muttering curses under her breath, then at Takan, who was gulping and pinning her down. Then, a loud swallow, he pushed the bone back into place like a piece of puzzle and with a sickening crack.

Samus's yell of pain almost burst his ear-drums, quickly followed by so many foul curses that for a second, he thought she was the old drunk colonel who had first greated him in the Federation when he became a Bounty Hunter. She switched from english to Chozo, her curses quickly dying out after a minute. "Are you okay?" he risked asking.

Samus's only answer to that was to hold out a hand and snatch the little bottle again, drinking so much she ought to be unconscious by now.

Takan grinned at Rundas. "I think she's feeling better."

(***)

Later, when the only noises in the tunnel were Takan's snoring and raindrops over the cavern, Rundas slipped next to the dozing Samus to check out everything was okay.

"Feeling better?" he whispered, and ran a claw on her wound. She nodded. "I'm good." For a long time, they didn't speak and stared at the cave's ceiling. The rain was falling heavily outside, which Samus found strange for a planet as dry as Bryyo. Yet she liked the sound of the water as it dripped over their heads. "I'm sorry," Samus said abruptly. He stared at her questioningly. "I... What I said at the Seed was unfair on you. You saved my life, I should be thankful, not—"

He pinched her.

"Ow!" she protested. "What the hell—" she stopped as she saw him laughing.

"One, I don't care about what you said. It's in the past. Anyway, _this_ settles the debt," he chuckled. "Two, I never thought I'd see the day when Samus Aran apologizes! I should have recorded that and posted it on youtube. Your fans would have loved this."

"Ha ha," she rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly. "Idiot." Without realizing it, she leaned back on his shoulder. He looked at her, surprised by this sudden gesture of affection, but pleased despite himself. _Stop it, _he thought_. She's just a... A friend_. _Nothing else._ Yet he didn't move. Her touch had awakened all the feelings he had tried to bury since the night before. He could smell her scent mingled with her sweat, and felt the urge of breathing it in deeply.

She probably felt his turmoil, and turned around to look at him. Her eyes were so deep... Deeper than the great rift near his city, and their blue as beautiful as the frozen sea... _Stop it. Now,_ He thought, yet couldn't move away. Before he could even think, his hand went to her cheek and stroke it. _I'm completely mad._ She jumped a little at the cold touch, but relaxed quickly. His other arm envelopped her and caressed her back slowly, his claw running up and down her spine. She shivered, but not because of the cold, he realized. She actually _liked _this. He knew he should stop, yet he couldn't. He was completely enthralled with the feeling of her skin, burning against his, and her eyes. His heart was beating so hard it threatened to break out of his ribcage.

"Rundas?" she whispered, and he knew intinctively no words would follow. His _name_ was the question. She reached out and touched his face gently, as hypnotized as he was. He leaned forwards, drinking in her scent even more, then kissed her hair. Her forehead. Her nose. Her chin. Finally, he pressed his mouth against hers, and she responded.

Her breathing accelerated and she suddenly reached out to him, pulling him closer. Her mouth opened, as though she was also breathing his scent. He took that opportunity to explore her mouth with his tongue, cold and hard against hers, which was warm and smooth. _This is too good,_ he thought, though his mind was a complete chaos. He didn't even think of the consequences of their act, or even how it might affect her feelings. He was completely concentrated on the feeling of her body against his, so close, and yet not close enough for him.

His lips left hers and travelled down her neck and throat, surprising them both. Even _he_ hadn't known he could be so passionate. Her hands roamed around his chest and neck, as though trying to feel his skin through the armour, while his own claws were running up and down her back. Then, as his lips met hers again, one hand suddenly left her back to graze her breasts, as the other found the zipper of her suit. Consumed by pure desire, he started to pull it down.

His sudden action broke the spell he had on her. She froze, then pulled away abruptly from his embrace, startling him. "Enough!" The cavern echoed with her shout. She looked at him, a scowl distorting her features.

Crap. His heart sank. He had tried to... undress her? And he knew he had wanted even more than just that. What an idiot he had been! "I should probably apologize," he said awkwardly.

A flush coloured her cheeks. "This is not what we are," she said slowly. "We are Hunters. And friends. I don't want to ruin this, whatever the... needs we have." He nodded, though he was unhappy about that. He wanted her, he needed her, he... loved her, despite everything. But she was right. As Bounty Hunters, they couldn't allow themselves to be so close.

"Aw, man," a boyish voice interrupted them. They both turned to look at Takan, who was sitting with a disappointed expression. "You should have gone ahead. I did my best not to, uh, disturb you. Don't stop now."

Samus turned red, and Rundas felt his face burning with embarassment. "You... you were watching us? All along?"

"I kinda was, yeah," the boy grinned sheepishly. "I woke up because of the rain, but then I saw you two kissing and figured it'd be fun to watch." He looked from Samus to Rundas. "So, are you two together?"

"No," both Hunters said together. The boy's grin widened. "Sure you aren't," he said, then tucked his arms behind his head and yawned. "Well I'm sleepy now. Feel free to continue, just don't make too much noise."

He fell asleep instantly and started snoring again, leaving an embarassed silence between the two other hunters. "Now that was humiliating," Rundas muttered. "I suppose he's gonna blackmail us."

Samus didn't answer, but started thinking of all the possible ways she could silence Takan before he told anyone what had happened between she and Rundas.

(***)

The Hunter looked at his preys. One was guarding while the others were sleeping peacefully. He felt like attacking them right now, but his orders were strict: not to do anything until they called him. He glanced at his communicator, hoping his employers would call soon. After all, he was their last option. At last the small phone buzzed and he answered quickly.

"Yeah?"

"The Dark Hunter has given her consent for the operation," a cold, heavily-accentuated voice said. "Wait until they are in the ship, then strike."

"My payment?" the Hunter asked.

"Fifty thousands credits have just been transferred to your account. The rest will be given to you once Aran is in our hands."

"And the other?"

"Without Aran, he isn't much of a threat. Leave him be. If he does prove to be a nuisance, however, you have the authorisation to kill him."

"Perfect," the Hunter smirked. "You don't seem happy about me doing the job, Ridley."

"What I think is nothing compared to the will of the Dark Hunter," the speaker growled. "Though if it were up to me, you'd still be rotting in that cell where we found you."

The Hunter laughed: "Still the same old Ridley. Do you hate me that much, Godzilla?"

"Shut up. Just remember: if Aran dies, or if the Feds catch you, our deal's off. I... We want her alive and healthy enough to feel pain. No torn limbs or anything. Got it?"

"Right," the Hunter said. "I'll call you when I got her."

"You'd better," Ridley hand up. The Hunter looked at the female's face. She was kind of attractive, pretty even. And her curves were quite inviting...

The Hunter smirked again. Ridley had said she should be healthy enough to feel pain. He hadn't said that he couldn't have a little fun with her before handing her out. He knew he would probably enjoy her screams when he would rape her. And she'd still be able to scream after that. A lot.

This is going to be fun.

**AN:**** Cliffhanger. I know, I know. At least they kissed again, didn't they? And who is that mysterious Hunter? Cookies to anyone who guesses.**


	9. Author's note

Hi everyone !

First of all, I can't tell you how amazed I am by the popularity of this story! I feel so loved! There are too many of you to list here, so I won't write down any names, but I thank each and everyone of you for your support and faithfulness to this story, which is now my most popular story. It's great to know that people enjoy my writing and even better to see new reviews, faves, etc... added each day. It really makes me happy.

Now, for the bad news— I know many of you are sending me messages about when the new chapter will be, and I'm terribly sorry for the delay. However, two things are currently delaying this chapter's writing: writer's block and final exams. Maybe the two are linked. I rewrote the chapter at least five times and deleted it every time. Why? Because there's a scene in it I find terribly difficult to write and it nags at me constantly. Which writer hasn't experienced that? That, and my final exams are approaching soon, and I'm mostly revising and stressing over it right now, since it's a very important exam. So I'm sorry to say the new chapter will take another while to complete. In three weeks, however, I'll be in the countryside and I'll have all my time and inspiration to work on it. During that time, I beg you to indulge me and to have a bit more patience.

Do not worry, I'm not abandoning this story, but I just need time to figure things out. Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely summer, and please keep in mind that the more time I take in writing it, the better the chapter will be. Thank you for everything you've done for me so far and sorry again!

Love, Sylvie.


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